


Rising

by Starlight_dreaming



Series: Assassination Classroom: Gen II [1]
Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Angst, Bunch-of-OCs-please-bear-with-me, Canon-Typical Violence, Don't-actually-know-how-tags-work, F/M, Gen, Human Experimentation, Karasuma daughter, Pain in general, Post-Season/Series 02 AU, Teacher!Nagisa, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-02
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-08-14 16:57:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 33
Words: 76,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16496573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starlight_dreaming/pseuds/Starlight_dreaming
Summary: He heard the sound of laughter. "So you're the assassin teacher I've been hearing so much about huh?" Nagisa looked up and saw someone sitting on the roof, half hidden in the shadows. A student? A girl judging by the looks of it and the sound of her voice. He couldn't make out her face in the dark.





	1. Mystery Time

**Author's Note:**

> So... It took me this long to discover A3O. But I have now! So be prepared for post Assassination Classroom Au, cause I need a sequel/spinoff and Koro-Q ain't gonna cut it (not that I don't enjoy it. Lol). 
> 
> First fic, be nice.
> 
> I own nothing here except the OCs, artwork and the writing obviously. :)

Nagisa was dead tired. 

He was sitting alone in the second floor staffroom of Kunugigaoka Junior High School. The place was silent, and the room was dark, spare for the lights over the section close to his desk. Nagisa glanced at the clock on the wall for what was probably the fifth time the entire evening - not that he needed to since his laptop was sitting directly in front of him, but it was more of a reflexive impulse more than anything. 

8:27 p.m.

He turned back to his laptop with a sigh. Kaeda was going to kill him. Karma and Okuda had planned on dropping by for dinner today and he had promised to be home early, like the day before, and the day before that. Nagisa glanced at his screen. He could barely focus and the words on his laptop were beginning to blur together. Giving up he saved his work and turned off his laptop. Taking off his reading glasses to rub his eyes. 

The photo set on the corner of his desk caught his eye. He picked it up and his lips twitched upwards in a small smile as he gazed down at the old photo of class 3E. His gaze wandered over Korosensei, who had them all wrapped up in his tentacles in the picture. 

That had been almost seventeen years ago now. 

Being a teacher in Kunugigaoka was almost as hard as being one of their students. Nagisa had been working in his former school for almost a year and a half now and the sheer workload was taking its toll. The standards here were nothing compared to all the schools he had taught in before, especially with Asano running the place. Nagisa grimaced at the thought of principal. He was almost as bad as his father. Till this day, Nagisa had no idea how Korosensei, or any of the teachers in the main campus for that matter, had managed to keep up with its ridiculously high standards.

He was still nowhere as good a teacher as the octopus had been, even after all these years. But he would keep trying. He set the photo back on his desk and eyed the blank screen on his laptop. Resolving to get up earlier the next morning to finish setting the mid-year English paper, he got up and began packing his things. 

He gathered the papers he had to finish marking by tomorrow and shoved it into his bag, along with his stationery and laptop. 

"Goodnight Shiota-sensei!" One of the junior teachers that had just joined the faculty this year - and also the only other person who haven't left - said, waving a hand at him. Nagisa smiled, "Goodnight Kamuri-san," he said, "Don't stay back too late." 

Kamuri assured him that he wouldn't and Nagisa was out the door. The deserted hallways were quiet as Nagisa made his way down to the ground floor, texting his profuse apologies Kaeda. She didn't reply immediately and he took that as a bad sign. 

She still hasn't replied by the time he left the school grounds, walking down the busy streets towards the nearest station. He took his regular shortcut, cutting through the small path in between the main campus and the half-constructed new wing, and tried texting Karma instead. 

He sensed it then.

Eyes on him. 

There was flash of movement out of the corner of his eye and Nagisa froze, dead in his tracks. 

He heard the sound of laughter. "So you're the assassin teacher I've been hearing so much about huh?" He looked up and saw someone sitting on the roof, half hidden in the shadows. A student? A girl judging by the looks of it and the sound of her voice. He couldn't make out her face in the dark. 

"Who's there?" Nagisa called out, "Stop hiding." He saw movement and a glint of silver out of the corner of his eye. Faster than he could react, a blade flew right pass his head, slicing his cheek, stabbing into the wall behind him with enough force that it sunk into the brick. Nagisa stared at the knife. It wasn't one of the fake ones his students had bought from that hundred yen store across the street. No, this one was very much real. 

He reached up his hand and touched his cheek. The cut was shallow, but he felt blood against his fingers. "Are you sure?" The voice mocked. Nagisa glanced up but the girl was gone. He took a ready stance, all his senses suddenly hyper alert of his surrounds. He couldn't remember the last time he felt this... awake. 

"People don't usually want me to come out," the voice said from somewhere to his right. Nagisa smirked, "Do it anyway." He heard a snort of disbelief, he glanced behind him and his eyes widened when he saw the blade in the wall had vanished.

Who was this student? 

Was she even a student at all? Whoever she was, she was fast, fast enough and stealthy enough to get pass even him. Perhaps an assassin then? That made no sense. No one but his students would target him. They had no reason to. 

He heard the sound of metal scrapping against stone. He faced the front and saw a girl walking towards him, knife trailing against the brick walls. "I've heard so much about you, Nagisa-sensei," she said, "I was told you encourage your students to try to kill you," the girl smiled, "And no one has succeeded," she stepped out of the shadows. 

Nagisa took her in. She looked around fifteen, a student in the final year of junior high. She was painstakingly beautiful, with foreign features, and long ink black hair that cascaded pass her shoulders and down her back in silky waves. Her eyes were clear blue, and almost seem to glow the semi darkness. Like the eyes of a wolf. 

The eyes of a predator. A killer. 

She wore a black long sleeved shirt, and black tights, along with hitman gear and an impressive number of hidden knives strapped to her sides and legs. The dark clothing almost seem to blend in the dark, but there was something else, something like a shadow that cloaked her presence. 

Nagisa had seen it before, a long, long time ago. The skill used by the assassin called the Reaper. It was undeniably the very same skill, admittedly watered down version of it but impressive none the less. 

The shadows seem to fade away as she stepped closer. She looked him up and down, and cocked her head, "I heard you were short, but your reputation precedes you." 

She might very well have stabbed him with one of those blades. He pressed his hand to his heart in mock hurt. "You're words wound," he said, "Who are you?" He asked. He had to find out who she was. 

He didn't think she would actually answer, but to his utter surprise the girl shrugged, "I'm a transfer student," she said, "I'll be starting school tomorrow, but I thought I'd check out the highlight of this sorry place," her piercing turquoise eyes looked at him up and down, assessing for weaknesses. "I have to say I'm disappointed," she tilted her head to the side, and clicked her tongue, "I think killing you will be easy." 

She grinned, baring perfectly straight white teeth in a wolf's smile, "My name Natsuki," she said, "After all you should know the student who's going to kill you." She moved, and the next moment she was standing on the roof, "Remember that name, teach," her eyes gleamed in the moonlight, "I'll see you tomorrow in class." With that, she grinned and vanished out of his line of sight. 

Nagisa stared after her, subconsciously reaching up to touch the wound on his cheek, "A transfer student huh?" Strange that he never heard about her. He chuckled, lowering his hand, "I hope you have what it takes." He smiled and continued his way to the station. 

Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.


	2. Natsuki Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longer chapter!!!

Nagisa scrubbed a hand down his face, as he made his way to the staffroom. Kaeda had unsurprisingly been angry at him for breaking his promise. But thankfully after a few minutes of apologising, a couple of drinks and Karma in the equation, she had somewhat reluctantly forgiven him. At least he sure hoped she had. 

Nagisa grimaced rubbing his skull as he slid open the door to the staffroom. He should have known that Karma and drinks in the same sentence would never result in anything good. He really shouldn't be drinking at all on a weeknight. He still hadn't finish with the mid-year papars, and a headache, mild as it was, was definitely not what he needed right now. 

"Shiota-san." 

Nagisa was greated by the sound of a somewhat familiar voice the second he entered the staffroom. His mind scrambled for the name of the dark haired woman and was grateful that it came to him at the last second, "Good morning, Akina-sensei," he said. 

Akina didn't even bother with pleasantries, "The vice principal wants to see you in his office," she said and left for her table before Nagisa had a chance to ask why. He sighed, turning and walking out the direction he had came. 

What on earth did the vice principal want with him this early in the day? 

Two minutes later he found himself sitting in a rather uncomfortable chair the said man's office, drumming his fingers nervously on his bag as he waited for the vice principal to arrive. Why was he here? Had his class caused more trouble again? If it were true, that had to be the third time this week alone. 

Or maybe it had something to do with the girl from last night. The so called transfer student. 

Before he had the chance to think about it any further, he heard the sound of footsteps outside, and turned in his seat just as the door opened with a click. 

Nagisa's mouth fell open when Tadaomi Karasuma walked into the office. The man hadn't changed much after seventeen years. His cool expression was unreadable as always, his piercing, dark eyes glaring, and that familiar permanent scowl fixed on his face. His spiky dark hair was shorter, combed back from his face and he wore a sharp dark grey suit with insignias on the collar that stated his rank as chief in the Ministry of Defense. 

One of his rare half-smiles flickered on his face when he saw Nagisa, "Nagisa-kun, it's been a while." Nagisa stared at him, "Karasuma-sensei!" He said in surprise. He hadn't seen his former teacher in years, unless you counted the front pages of the newspapers. 

"I see that you know each other," the vice principal said with a kindly smile as he walked in, closing the door behind him. Karasuma cleared his throat, "I... taught here at one point," he said. If you counted assassination classes as lessons. 

"Really now?" The old man looked surprised. "Only for a year," Karasuma said quickly, "I was trying something new. I taught Nagisa-sensei's class." Nagisa found it weird to hear his former teacher addressing him as sensei. The vice principal chuckled, "Seems like it wasn't your thing," he said jokingly, "If you went back to the Ministry after only a year." 

It was incredible, Nagisa thought, how easily people could forget the incident that happened nearly seventeen years ago. Even blowing up the moon didn't seem to serve as a reminder. Or perhaps, people simply wanted to forget. 

Nagisa would never forget though. All the students of the End Class would never forget that year. The best year of their lives. 

The vice principal walked over to his desk and sat down, gesturing for Karasuma to sit beside Nagisa. "Nagisa-sensei," the man addressed him as Karasuma pulled out the chair and sat down, "The reason I have called you in, is because there will be a new student joining your class today." 

Nagisa had guessed as much. But that didn't explain why the head of the Ministry of Defense was here. Nagisa glanced over at Karasuma whose expression remained impassive. As much as he loved seeing his old teacher and friend again, wherever he turned up, that meant some form of danger was sure to follow. His thoughts drifted back to his encounter last night. 

"Due to safety precautions, we hadn't informed you about the transfer until the very last minute," the vice principal explained, drawing Nagisa's attention back to him. Nagisa's eyes narrowed. 

Safety precautions? 

"The student is Chief Karasuma-sama's daughter, and has been targeted a few times by various parties." Nagisa blinked in surprised, now this he hadn't expected. "Karasuma-sensei, why didn't you ever mention you had a daughter?" 

Nagisa certainly hadn't seen her in the E Class annual get-together. Usually it was Irina who turned up, occasionally with Karasuma, while most of the times both of them were absent, busy with whatever mission the Ministry had in operation. 

For the first time since he met him, Karasuma looked uncomfortable, his scowl deepened, "As the vice principal said, safety precautions," he said flatly, "Anyhow I'd though it'll be a good idea to let you to meet her before class starts." Karasuma tilted his head, "Natsuki," he called, "You can come in now." Nagisa didn't even have time to widen his eyes when the door opened and a girl strolled in.

_The_ girl. 

The one he had met last night. Nagisa stared at her, " _She's_ your daughter?" He didn't care if he sounded rude, but judging by the vice principal's frown, he certainly was. 

He didn't know why he was surprised, her skills alone should have been a clue. The daughter of an elite soldier and a world class professional assassin. That explained a lot.

Now that she wasn't hidden in the shadows, Nagisa began to see the resemblance. She looked like Irina-sensei, with her mother's striking beauty and stunning turquoise eyes. But she had Karasuma's ink black hair, and judging by the encounter last night, his inhuman strength and skills. 

She wore a white jacket over her grey Kunugigaoka uniform. Cold blue eyes now watched him, like a wolf circling prey. But then to his surprised she smiled at him brightly, "Ohayō!" she said cheerfully, all menace and bloodlust gone in a flash. "My name is Natsuki Karasuma." 

She looked at Nagisa with wide blue eyes, "So you're my sensei?" She turned to her father accusingly, "Otousan, you never told me he was cute." Nagisa had to blink a few times to make sure he had heard right. Karasuma let out a world weary sigh and glared at her wordlessly. 

"Thanks for having me, principal!" She said to the vice principal happily. The vice principal smiled sheepishly, "Well, err... I'm not the principal." Natsuki's eyes widened dramatically, "Really?" She said in disbelief, "I got the impression a man like you would be the principal." Nagisa saw the vice principal chuckle, "Aren't you the sweetest," he said, "And yes, this is Nagisa-sensei, he will be your homeroom teacher." 

Natsuki smiled shyly, "Nagisa sensei! I hope to learn much from you," she bowed at him. Nagisa just stared at her, perplexed. 

Looks like she had inherited Irina's talents along with her father's. If Nagisa hadn't known better, he would though that she and the girl who tried to kill him were two entirely different people. 

But he wasn't fooled, and by the looks he was giving his daughter, Karasuma wasn't either. Nagisa saw the vicious wolf hiding behind those clear blue eyes and adorable façade, watching and waiting for the time to strike. But it was clear the vice principal had no clue about the assassin that now stood in his office. 

"I've read your records," the man said while pushing a file over to Nagisa, "You're a very talented young lady." Nagisa flipped open the file. Indeed her record of achievements when on and on, in various fields, from everything to sporting events, to music awards and high grades. She had been in many different schools, not staying for over two years in a single one. 

The better the assassin, the wider the range of skills. 

There were comments from her previous tutors too, all positive, spare one. Nagisa looked at that, it was a small record about her beating up another student after being provoked. But apart from that there wasn't anything bad on her. The perfect student... or so they thought. 

"Why exactly have you enrolled her in Kunugigaoka, Karasuma-sensei?" Nagisa asked looking up from the file and raising an eyebrow, "At this rate she could be in collage by now." The vice-principal nodded in agreement, "Classes here would be too easy for her, and of all classes you specifically chose the F Class. 

Nagisa stiffened at that. Although the E class system no longer existed. The amount of intake of students had increased so much so that Asano had made the decision to increase the number of classes, so that each year had its own E as well as F classes. 

Class 3-F was better than most in some ways. Sure, the students there were the lowest when it came to grades in their year, and each have their own problems. But they weren't as arrogant as the others. They reminded Nagisa of his own class when he studied here. That was why he had volunteered to be their homeroom teacher - a post which not many others were particularly keen on taking on. 

"Yeah, Otousan!" Natsuki piped up suddenly, "I'm good enough, I could have graduated from collage a year ago," she tugged at Karasuma's hand, her eyes flashed, "And maybe I can start doing other things... Like for the Ministry?" 

Karasuma didn't even consider it, "No," he said flatly, brushing her away to her irritation, "Even if you could I wouldn't let you. You may be smart, but you're still young, you need to learn how to be a good person." 

Something dangerous flickered in those eyes, though her expression revealed nothing but a spoiled child's annoyance, "Otousan," she whined, "I am a good person!" 

Karasuma scowled, "I'm not changing my mind," his tone clearly making it final, allowing no room for argument. He turned back to the vice principal, "I have my reasons for sending her here," his dark eyes flicked over to Nagisa, "If you don't mind, I'd like to discuss a few things with Natsuki's teacher." 

The old man smiled, "Of course," he stood up, "There are a few things I need to take care of as well. It was nice meeting you Natsuki," he said smiling his kind smile at Natsuki, who grinned back at him widely, "Do remember class starts at 7:30 sharp. I hope you will do well." 

He moved to leave, then paused, "Oh and Nagisa-sensei, do inform the other teachers Asano-sama is returning today." Nagisa nodded and the man smiled. He nodded at Karasuma, "Karasuma-sama," he shut the door behind him. 

The moment the man left, Natsuki snorted, the smile vanishing off her face like a mask, replaced with a cold, unreadable look that was almost a mirror image of her father's. "That sensei seems like a nice guy. A little too nice," she commented. 

Karasuma glared down at her, "Don't you feel the slightest bit guilty?" His daughter rolled her eyes, "No," she said simply. "Why did you send me here?" She demanded, "I could be tracking down that wanted rouge with Ka-san." Karasuma scrowled, "You came here because you have to learn." 

To Nagisa's horror Natsuki pulled out a knife, and began turning it in her hand, "There's nothing here they can teach me that I don't already know." Nagisa eyed the blade, he really hoped Asano hadn't gone about installing those hidden cameras he had mentioned. 

Karasuma plucked the blade from her hand, and pocketed it before she could so much as protest. "Assassination isn't everything, Natsuki," he told her, "I'm hoping Nagisa can teach you that." Natsuki crossed her arms, "You made it everything," she said dully, "It was your choice, not mine." Karasuma didn't reply, nor did he deny it. 

The tension in the room weighed a ton, Nagisa could almost feel it pressing down on them like a physical weight. He cleared his throat, abruptly breaking the ice, "Well, it was good seeing you again, Karasuma-sensei," he said with forced lightness, "If there isn't anything else, Natsuki and I should really be heading to class." He smiled at Natsuki who only returned it with a cold expression. 

Karasuma nodded, "That will be all." He turned to his daughter and gripped her shoulder lightly, "Be good. Don't do anything stupid," he told her quietly, "I know you think this pointless. But try alright?" Natsuki looked away, and said nothing, avoiding his gaze. 

Karasuma withdrew his hand, "I'll see you next week," he said, "Try not to kill anyone and don't get yourself killed either," he smiled a little, bumping her jaw with a knuckle, "You're mother will kill me if you did." 

Natsuki still didn't look at him, but she murmured, "I won't if you won't." Karasuma smiled, "Deal." He nodded at Nagisa, "Nagisa-sensei. Call me if she causes any trouble." Nagisa nodded and with that, Karasuma walked across the office, disappearing out the door without so much as a look back. 

Nagisa glanced at Natsuki and saw her looking at the door where Karasuma had disappeared, her expression unreadable. "I'm still going to kill you, you know." Natsuki said drawing out another knife from her pocket and brushing a finger lightly along its wicked edge. She was honestly starting to remind him of Karma. 

"You are welcome to try," Nagisa said with a cheerful smile, he stood up, and walked to the exit, "But now, class starts in five minutes," he told her holding the door open for her. Natsuki sighed and got up, pocketing the blade. He didn't really have it in him to tell her real knives were illegal in school and probably the rest of Japan for that matter. He had the feeling she had more on her even if he confiscated that one anyway. 

"I am not looking forward to this," she growled under her breath and stalked pass him and out the door. Nagisa opened his mouth to give her the directions but she drawled, "Save it, I know the way. I memorized the floorplan of the school yesterday." 

Ever the assassin. 

Nagisa sighed and followed her out the door. He wondered what Karasuma and Irina had been teaching her, and why those blue eyes looked so sad and haunted for someone so young.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you know this entire fic is inspired by one tiny frame in the manga and one tiny footnote in wiki. So...yeah...


	3. Class 3-F Time

Mikado Takahashi was bored. He stared out the window of the Class 3-F. The class itself was located at the top floor of the school and his seat was in the back corner of the classroom, right beside the window, which gave him a spectacular view of the school's compound and the city beyond.

He glanced at his reflection in the glass and found a dark haired, dark eyed boy looking back at him with a scowl. It was the final year of school, and he had hit rock bottom. Class 3-F, the Fail Class. Not that he cared, not really. Two months into the year and he decided he liked it here. The students here were alright. He glanced over to the said students. There were only sixteen in the Fail Class. 

There was the class rep, a meek dark haired girl with pair purple glasses perched on her nose named Kinata. Mikado had honestly no idea how she ended up in the F Class, so far, she had proved to be the smartest of the lot. She was currently talking to her two friends. Yuki, the tall, blond haired, blue eyed, athletically inclined girl of the class, who would have been the school beauty if it weren't for the class she was in, and Hana, a manga fanatic with short brown hair and hazel eyes. 

"Renji!" A familiar scream rang through the class. Mikado's attention was drawn to the boy who now raced pass his desk, nearly crashing right into it while trying to escape from a red headed girl with fire in her eyes. 

Renji, dark haired, green eyed and missing his school jacket, laughed, as he ran away, an art book clutched in his hand. The mischief maker would do anything to rile anyone up. The girl with red hair that was now chasing him around the class was named Akane, a natural artist with a temper that could match her fiery hair. 

Mikado watched as they nearly crashed into Sora, who was reading a book in a corner. The boy with light blue hair looked up with a scowl, pushing his round glasses up his nose and waving them away irritably. They ran pass the door just as a gang of four boys stalked in. Hashimaru, Tenkai, Hiro and their ring leader Kaito. They were the ones to watch out for with all the crazy stuns they pulled off, that should have gotten them expelled long ago. 

Then there was also Koharu's gang which consisted of Koharu herself and her two friends, Ichiro and Jin. Till last year they had been a part of a band, called Saigo no koe. But they had eventually been kicked out, due to the other band members refusing to let their reputation slide in with Fail Class students. 

Koharu, with her pink streaked hair tied up in a ponytail and painted nails had been the lead singer. Ichiro had dark blue hair and dark eyes, and a guitar was always somehwere close by his side. Jin had been the drummer, with purple dyed hair that fell well pass his eyes. The two boys stuck close with Koharu, the three friends were near inseparable and seem to prefer to be left alone. 

The last two members of the class were Farlan, a blond headed foreign student who didn't speak much due to his poor language and a girl named Misuki, the assistant class rep, who usually sat the table beside Mikado and was currently no where to be seen. 

And there was him. Mikado Takahashi. The outcast of the outcast class. It wasn't because he was a loner, no, he had no problem working with his classmates when the occasion called for it. He just preferred to be left alone. He ran a hand through his messy dark hair and stared up at the ceiling. 

This place was such a bore. 

"Oi! Mikado!" He saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He saw a fist flying for him and caught it before it connected with his face without so much as looking at it. He clenched his fingers and shoved hard enough sending the owner stumbling back. 

Mikado looked to the side and saw Kaito, surrounded by his thugs, gripping his hand with a grimace, "Did you have to do that?" he demanded. Mikado gave him a flat look, "I could ask the same for you." 

Kaito had a strong built and a good inch over Mikado. He was the captain of the baseball team and the girls considered him handsome with his orange dyed hair, cocky smile and his oblivion to the fact that his baseball team uniform was only allowed during PE. Somehow he had still retained his popularity despite being in the Fail Class. 

He was alright, Mikado decided, if you could ignore his attitude and utter ego. Of the three others in his gang, Tenkai was a scrawny kid and the other two were complete brutes. 

Kaito smirked, "Nothing gets pass you does it?" he asked rotating his wrist, "Never giving those reflexes a rest." Mikado said nothing. 

Yes, he had what some would call near extreme reflexes. He was also a lot stronger than he looked with his average built and height. He owed his skills partially to talent, partially to his training in kendo. It was the only thing he didn't find absolutely boring in his daily life. 

Mikado sighed "What do you want Kaito?" He asked sitting up straighter and turning his dark eyes towards the taller boy, expression bored. Kaito crossed his arms, "We're planning to ditch class after lunch and go check out that new building they're working on. You want to tag along?" 

Something in him that had been asleep not two seconds ago, raised its head warily and cocked it's ears at the invitation. It was tempting, but Mikado hesitated, "Maybe," he said finally, "We'll just see," he smirked, "Maybe I'll get lucky and have an opportunity to kill Nagisa sensei after lunch." Kaito shrugged, "Suit yourself," he said and stalked away with his gang in tow. 

Kill Nagisa sensei. 

The rules were simple. Land a hit on him, spike his drink, do anything that would have ended his life if it had been the real deal just once and you could slack off for the rest of the year and get good grades in his classes anyway. It was a good deal, a deal too good to be true and there were no rules as to how you could go about it. As long as you got to him in any way at all, you won.

There were no rules that said you couldn't use real weapons either. 

Not that it matter either way. It was almost four months into school. So far no one had succeeded and the end of the year was approaching way faster than it should be. Some tried and failed, some didn't even bother to try and others thought he was barking mad. Mikado honestly wondered how the rest of the school board was alright with the arrangement. Then again the principal had a reputation for being on the more extreme side of possibly every spectrum. 

Classes A through E had given up on Nagisa-sensei's deal. F Class was still going at him. Some had already resigned themselves to studying but Mikado wasn't ready to give in. Not just yet. Even though virtually nothing could get pass the man. Everything from straight on attack to faux poisoning had failed one way or another. He wondered if Nagisa had been something like soilder or an assassin once upon a time.

Assassination. 

Now that was was something that sent his heart pumping, made his every sense sharpen with concentration, it made him feel... awake, alive, like as if he had been asleep his whole life. Assassination, combat and weapons. Fighting for what he wanted, what he thought was right, for the sheer thrill of it. That was what Mikado loved, more than anything. He already had plans to join the military once he graduated high school much to his parents' disappointment. 

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Mikado looked up as Nagisa-sensei strolled in. "Rise!" The class rep called. He stood up along with his classmates, a smile twisting on his lips. 

And the day begins. 

"Good morning," the class rep said and the others echoed her before sitting down. Nagisa smiled his kind smile, "Good morning class," he said, he scanned the room, blue eyes landing on the empty seat beside Mikado, "Where is Misuki?" 

No one offered an answer even the girls she usually hanged out with only lifted their shoulders. Nagisa sighed, "Alright," he placed his attendance book on the teacher's desk, no sooner had he done so Mikado caught the silver gilt of a knife flying for him. Nagisa simply stepped out of the way, and the penknife bounced harmlessly off the blackboard. 

"Kaito!" Nagisa leaned down and picked up the knife, "What have I said about throwing knives in class?" He demanded, more irritated than angry. The class burst out laughing. At the opposite corner of the room Kaito grinned. 

Nagisa shook his head but he smiled, "I have to say you're throwing skills have gotten a good deal better," he placed the knife next to his attendance book and leaned on the table. 

Mikado noticed something then, a shallow cut on his cheek. But Kaito hadn't touched him. Had someone finally hurt him? 

He wasn't the only one who noticed, "Nagisa-sensei," Akane who sat in the front pointed at his face, "What happened to your face?" Nagisa reached up and hand and touched his face, he smiled, "Ah well, I was cutting some onions yesterday, it didn't work out," he said. 

"Seriously?!" The class burst out. They hadn't been able to hurt him at all, and cutting vegetables could? "How on earth did you even cut your face?" Renji muttered and the class murmured in agreement. Nagisa scratched the back of his head, and only chuckled sheepishly. "Anyway," he said waving aside his clumsiness, "There will be a new student joining you today." 

That made everyone sit up straighter, there were murmurs of surprise, even Mikado felt his curiosity pipe up. It wasn't that many who joined this late. And what had he or she already done to end up in F Class. 

"She is a transfer student from... another school," Nagisa explain, and Mikado noted his hesitation, "She'll be joining you till the end of this year," he smiled, and glanced at the door, "You can come in now." Everyone glanced at the door as a student walked in. A girl. Mikado raised his head from his hands.

She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. 

She had ink black hair as dark as night that cascaded down her back in dark, silky waves. Her eyes were bright, brilliant turquoise, the colour of clear water. She had pale skin and a foreigner's looks. She wasn't cute or pretty like the other girls in school. No she was beautiful. Like an ivory sculpture come to life. Then she smiled, a sweet, charming smile that would make every and any boy stare. It was true for not just the boys, everyone in the class could do nothing but stare at her. Kaito's jaw was hanging open. 

Nagisa grimaced a little as if he had expected this reaction from the class. "Why don't you introduce yourself?" He suggested to the girl. 

The girl smiled, a beautiful twist of her lips that lit up the very room, and nodded, "Ohaiyō!" She greeted the class cheerfully, "My name is Natsuki Karasuma," she grinned, "I hope to get to know you all better." She looked around with a slight frown before glancing at Nagisa, "Nagisa-sensei, where should I sit?" There was a stunned silence. Then there was the sound of every boy in class, spare Mikado, offering their own seat to her. Even the quiet Sora was doing so.

Mikado leaned back in his chair and watched in amusement, as his male classmates fought over where she would sit with Nagisa-sensei shouting over the noise. Mikado glanced at the cause of the chaos, who was smiling as she watched the boys fight. 

Natsuki Karasuma. 

He tilted his head. Interesting. Maybe today wouldn't be so boring after all. He watched as her clear blue eyes landed on him, the only boy who didn't seem the slightest bit interested in attracting her attention. She gave him that sweet smile of hers, Mikado simply nodded his greeting and turned his gaze out the window. 

She may be pretty, but honestly he wasn't interested. He knew there were girls in school that found him easy on the eyes, nowhere close to Kaito, but still good looking enough. But he hadn't cared for a single one of them. He just couldn't... bring himself to care. 

But then again. He felt that there was something different about Natsuki Karasuma. There was something in her eyes that sent his fighter's instinct bristling. He just didn't know what it was, but there was something there, something else beneath that beauty. 

He eyed her warily out of the corner of his eye, either way, he was planning to keep a healthy distance away from her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone's interested:   
> Karasuma Natsuki (烏間 那 月)  
> \- Natsuki means beautiful, moon
> 
> Takahashi Mikado (高橋 帝)   
> \- Mikado literally translates to emperor


	4. Mikado Time (Part I)

Natsuki smiled as the boys threw the class into chaos. Arguing with each other while the girls yelled at them to cut it out. She counted five girls and ten boys. Fifteen of them, one was missing. 

Her attention was drawn to the only boy who wasn't viving for her attention. He was the most handsome of the lot, with messy dark hair and even darker eyes. He wore a black vest underneath his unbuttoned grey school jacket, and he was missing his tie. 

He sat in the corner of the room watching his classmates in amusement. He noticed her attention and looked at her. He cocked his head, amusement turning to mild curiosity. Natsuki shot him her sweetest smile. The boy looked at her and simply nodded, before turning his gaze out the window, dismissive and uninterested. 

Natsuki blinked, surprised and annoyed. She had never met a single boy, not one, in all the schools she had been in, that had shown so much of a lack of interest in her as this one had. As if she were just like any other ordinary girl. 

"Everyone back to your seats!" There was a dangerous note in Nagisa's voice, that sent a chill down Natsuki's spine. There it was, a tiny hint of the assassin he had been, "Now!" One look at their teacher's face sent all the students scrambling to their places. Nagisa rubbed his forehead. His eyes flicked over the class. 

Natsuki watched him out of the corner of her eye. It was honestly hard to believe that the scrawny, bespectacled man was part of the group of students her parents had told her endless stories about. But looks could be deceiving. 

She had learned that the hard way.

"Natsuki," Nagisa nodded over to the only empty seat beside the dark haired boy, "Please take a seat beside Mikado. Misuki isn't here today. We'll add another desk tomorrow." The dark haired boy immediately snapped his head in her direction. His dark eyes flickered over to Nagisa and he scowled. Actually scowled as if Natsuki sitting beside him was something he'd rather avoid. There were unsatisfied murmurs around the class, but Natsuki smiled, "Alright." She walked over to the back and sat down. 

Class soon began and she glanced at the boy beside her who was looking out the window again. "Hello," she smiled, trying to be friendly, "It's Mikado isn't it?" Mikado glanced over to her, his expression blank, eyes bored, "What does it matter to you?" he asked, his dark eyes boring into hers. There was something about those eyes, something dark and deadly that slumbered in them. 

Natsuki shrugged, "Just trying to be friendly," she said cheerfully. Mikado blinked, "Natsuki Karasuma," he turned her name over in his mouth as if she were a puzzle he couldn't seem to figure out, "How did you end up in the Fail Class?" Natsuki shrugged, "How did you?" She asked in return. 

A faint smile curled at his lips. He didn't answer but said instead, "You should stay away from me," he looked out the window, "People like you shouldn't be here at all." Not that she didn't agree with him, but the way he said it... as if it were a privilege to be here. She glanced down at his book, and noted his name. 

Mikado Takahashi. She was going to have to keep an eye on this one. 

* * *

Throughout the first half of the day, Mikado caught Natuki watching him like a wolf stalking prey. He didn't like it, and didn't think much of it. But judging by the envious looks the other boys were throwing him, they sure did.

He ignored them, both the guys and Natsuki. He didn't pay much attention in class either, and ended up alternating between daydreaming about the kendo competition he was planning to compete in next week and ways he could kill the teacher who know taught him. 

"Mikado." 

Mikado snapped out of his daze and frowned at Renji who sat in front of him. "What?" He asked. "What do you think of the new girl?" Renji asked, green eyes glowing with mischief. Mikado glanced at Natsuki, who was now talking to Farlan in front of her, in what Mikado guessed was Russian. 

Farlan looked pleasantly surprised that she could speak his language, and was talking to her rapid-fire, one of his rare smiles on his face. 

"She's... nice I guess?" He couldn't help doubting what he just said. Apparently that was the wrong answer either way. "What on earth is wrong with you man?" Renji asked frowning at him, "She isn't just nice. She's..." He gestured at her wildly as discretely as possible, which wasn't discrete at all. 

Mikado shrugged, "Yeah I got that," he said shrewdly, "But I really don't care," he said, picking up his pen and started doing the work Nagisa gave them. 

"You're weird," Renji commented. 

"Uh huh," Mikado agreed without glancing up, writing down his answers. 

"Why does she keep looking at you?" Renji demanded, "Do you know each other?" Mikado was starting to feel annoyed, Renji just didn't know when to quit. "No," he snapped, looking up at Renji, "I've never met her before in my life." 

Renji got the message and quit asking. He glanced admiringly at Natsuki, "She doesn't belong here," he commented. That Mikado agreed with. She was a rose among thorns. Or maybe the sharpest thorn of them all. Mikado wasn't sure which. 

When he didn't look up from his work, Renji peered at his paper, "How on earth are you doing all that?" He asked, "You weren't even listening." Mikado finished off his work and shoved it aside, "I don't know, it's simple." Renji shook his head, "You don't belong in the F Class either, Takahashi," he said turning back to face the front. 

Mikado said nothing, he glanced down at the paper with his answers, all he knew that were correct. Maybe Renji had a point. The fact that he even dared think that rocked him to the core. 

The moment the bell rang signalling lunch, Mikado grabbed his bag and was out the door before anyone could stop him. He glanced back once, and saw his classmates crowding around the new girl. A corner of his lips curled upwards and he left without a goodbye. 

He bought a hamburger from the canteen and left the school compound, eating as he walked. He guessed Kaito and his group weren't going to go along with their plan now, not with the new girl in class. 

All the better. Mikado didn't like the company. He found his way to the half constructed building. It was meant to a new wing to the school. It should have been done by now, but the construction work had been on hiatus for the pass few months. Something to do with the government disagreeing with the structure. 

He stuffed the hamburger wrapper in his pocket and vaulted over the fence. He made his way over to the building and glanced up at the looming structure. Most of the building had already been cemented, but there were still some parts that were bare brick. Windows were missing their glass, makeshift scaffoldings climbed the walls while pipes and rusty metal rods stuck out from here and there. Mikado had meant to come check it out himself, but something had always gotten in the way. Well, he was here now. He grinned.

He took a run at the nearest pillar and leapt, fingers digging into the grooves between the bricks. He worked his way up the pillar and pulled himself upwards, onto a ledge. He ran across the ledge, barely five inches wide, and jumped, landing on a scaffolding. 

The beams creaked, threatening to give out under his weight, but held. He scrambled up till he reached the top, and jumped again without thinking twice. He barely made it to the next ledge. He slipped, knees crashing into the solid wall with a crack. 

Mikado hissed in pain and gritted his teeth as he found himself dangling on the ledge by the fingers. He glanced down and saw the stomach turning four story drop. His muscles strained as he haulted himself up by the fingers. But he made it anyway. 

He ran, adrenaline coursing through his veins, and leapt off the ledge. His foot found a metal rod, without missing a beat he pushed off and his hands caught a pipe. Using the momentum he swung himself upwards, and landed by a window. He continued this way, slowly and steadily working his way up the five story building, till finally pulled himself up on the roof. 

He rolled on his back, breathing hard. That took more effort than it should have. He sat up and checked his knees, and found them scrapped but unbroken. 

Once he caught his breath he stood up and sat on the edge of the roof. He smiled, savoured the fear that coiled in the pit of his stomach, as he looked down at the deadly fall. The smile faded along with the adrenaline. 

Wind ruffled his dark hair as he looked down at the city below. So small from this height, so pathetically normal. He long for something, anything to happen. It was all so plain, so ordinary. He had lived his life this way, it was so dull that he felt as if he were asleep most the time. 

It was times like this, when he was out doing something he knew was incredibly stupid or when he was fighting, did he finally feel awake again. Awake and so very much alive. It was as if pounding of his heart the roar of adrenaline in his veins were the only thing reminding him that he was one of the living. 

Mikado looked down at the little city below before turning his gaze upwards to the clear sky, a barely visible moon already hung at one end of the vast blue expanse. One day he was going to leave this place, he thought, one day, but not today. So he sat there, for a long while, simply looking towards the pale outline of the crescent moon.


	5. Mikado Time (Part II)

"Where's Mikado-kun?" Natsuki asked, as a boy in a baseball uniform, with hair dyed flaming orange sat down at the aforementioned boy's seat beside her. She had noticed that he left for lunch almost immediately after Nagisa gave the dismissal. 

Natsuki had spent lunch socializing with her new classmates. She became quick friends with the five girls - who had been wary at first, but warmed up quickly when she played nice - and flirted with a few of the boys. They told her about Nagisa's deal and she had learned all about their failed plans to kill their teacher. None which wouldn't have so much as touched him if he was as good as her father had made out. 

She had looked for the dark haired boy during lunch, but to no avail. When the bell rang signalling the end of lunch, Mikado hadn't returned to class at all. 

"You seem very interested in Takahashi-kun." The boy, Kaito Reneki, said. "Just curious," Natsuki replied truthfully, trying to keep her tone light with the baseball captain. 

She knew his type, arrogant, used throwing his weight around because he was popular and good looking, and too used to having girls falling all over him. Natsuki wondered what it would be like to kill him. Without much satisfaction, she guessed dryly.

"He always leaves halfway through the day," Kaito answered, crossing his arms behind his head and leaning backwards, balancing himself on the back legs of his chair in a way he no doubt though was cool. "Where does he go?" Natsuki asked. Kaito shrugged, "I don't know," he said, "I'm not his babysitter." In front of him, the dark haired, green eyed boy, Renji, snorted. 

Kaito either didn't heard or didn't care, "Forget about Mikado, he's an arrogant jerk," he said, pulling out a penknife and fiddling with it, in a way he no doubt thought was supposed cool. 

"And.. me guess you.. are not?" Farlan said in broken Japanese as he turned around and raised and eyebrow. Kaito snorted, "I just saying Natsuki should be with someone better than him." 

The German boy shook his head, not even hiding the disgust in his expression and turned away. Natsuki leaned forward, and smiled at Kaito in a way that she knew made boys' legs go weak, "And I'm guessing you think you're that someone?" Pink stained the baseball captain's cheeks, "And what if I am?" Natsuki regarded him. 

He had the looks, yes, and dating the school's most popular boy would have it's benefits. It would give her subtle influence over the school. Perhaps it would even throw her target off guard, confuse him a little. Natsuki was tempted to do so just to see how her father would react. Probably with a clenched jaw and vein ticking at his temple. 

But Kaito was foolish, all bark no bite, she had gleaned that much. So Natsuki only threw him a mysterious smile and a wink, "We'll just have to see." Kaito grinned, looking confident and pleased with himself. 

Just then the math teacher walked in and Natsuki turned away from him. "Careful," Farlan warned in German, "That one is a real troublemaking idiot. You should go out with me instead, or actually any guy other than him." Natsuki didn't need him to tell her that. She decided that she genuinely liked the sandy haired German boy, he was more honest than it was good for him. He'd make a good friend. 

But she wasn't here to make friends. 

So she simply smiled, "I know," she murmured back. "Whatever he just said, it's a lie," Kaito injected. Natsuki and Farlan only smirked at him in union. 

* * *

Mikado walked alone on the streets, heading back home. Night had began to fall, the orange gold hues of sunset fading into the bleak grey and blues of night. He rounded around a corner and, he thought he caught a flash of movement behind him. He paused, and turned around. The entire street was deserted, or so it appeared. His dark eyes narrowed. He scanned the rooftops, but there was no one to be seen. He frowned, finally deciding his heightened senses and paranoia was finally getting to him. 

He made it home without any other distractions. He walked into the condominium and took a lift up to his apartment. Cursing himself for forgetting his key, he ended up climbing into his living room through the balcony he was always sure to leave unlock, nearly slipping to his death a few times. 

The house was dark, not that he was surprised. He left his bag on a chair and stalked over to the kitchen, flicking on switchs along the way. It was a small apartment, with only a kitchen, a living room and three bedrooms. "Oni-chan." Mikado glanced up and saw his younger brother walking to the living room on near silent feet. Mikado frowned at him, "Hayato," he shook his head, "I told you to turn on the lights when you get back." Hayato only grinned, scratching the back of his head. Mikado shook his head but he smiled a little. 

Hayato was six years younger than him. Both brothers resembled each other, with their dark hair and dark eyes. But while Mikado was about as friendly as a prickly cactus, Hayato was his polar opposite. The nine-year-old had good grades, was popular in school, cheerful at all times and had none of his brother's aloofness. It was impossible to not like him. 

Mikado rolled his eyes, and nodded to the dinner table, "Help set the table and sit down." Hayato grinned his toothy smile, "Oh!" Two minutes later they were eating the ramen Mikado had bought on his way back home. 

"How was school?" Mikado asked, glancing at his kid brother. Hayato shrugged, "It was alright." Mikado frowned, "Did you get into trouble?" Hayato shook his head silently but avoided his gaze. 

It didn't take a genius to know he was lying. Mikado sighed, "How many times have I told you?" He asked, "Don't do anything impulsive." 

Hayato stared at him incredulously, "You do it all the time," he said, "You climbed in through the _balcony_." 

Mikado grimaced, "Don't get any ideas," he warned, noticing the gleam in Hayato's eye, "I'm not the best role model." He shrugged, "And I don't get caught," he grinned. 

Hayato rolled his eyes. Before Mikado could question him further, he asked, "Where's Okasan and Otousan?" Mikado stopped eating. He glanced up, and saw his brother looking bleakly at his bowl of noodles. "I don't know," Mikado said truthfully. 

"Are they coming home tonight?" 

Mikado ate a mouthful of ramen and chewed slowly. He swallowed. 

"I don't know." 

He glanced at his little brother who was staring emptily at his food without seeing. Mikado didn't like it when he was like this. He hated his parents for making him that way. "Hey lighten up," Mikado said, in effort to cheer him up, "At least they won't be fighting and shouting tonight." 

Hayato looked at Mikado, "Why is Okasan and Otousan never home?" Mikado sighed and shook his head, "It's better this way," he muttered, shoving another mouthful of noodles into his mouth, it tasted like strips of cardboard, "Trust me." Hayato looked disappointed. Mikado watched him out of the corner of his eye. 

God, he hated his parents. 

They were never home. His mother was no doubt out drinking with her colleges, and god knows where his father was, he might be in a different continent for all Mikado knew. They had never been around for him or Hayato. Mikado practically raised his little brother. 

On the rare occasions when they did come home, any sort of family dinner would usually end with a shouting match and one of them leaving. He knew Hayato wished they could just be a happy family again. Mikado used to wish that too, a long time ago. Now he just wanted them to both just go away and leave him and his brother alone. 

This was one of the reasons he wanted to leave so badly. By the time he was out of school he would leave to join the military or perhaps the Ministry of Defense and never have to see his parents again. Hayato would be a problem though. He didn't want anything to happen to him and he wasn't sure if Hayato would be able to look after himself by then. He didn't like the idea of leaving him alone with those two useless idiots. 

They finished dinner in silence and Mikado got up, clearing away the bowls. "I'll be in my room," Hayato said, running off, no doubt to game on his laptop. "Have you done your homework?" Mikado called after him. "Yeah!" Hayato shouted back before slamming his door shut. 

Mikado shook his head, and went over to the kitchen to do the dishes. When he was done, he picked up his bag and strolled into his room. 

His room was small but neat. His bed in a corner, beside the huge window was neatly made, and his desk at the foot of the bed was empty spare for his laptop. A bookshelf packed with spine of various books took up the entire wall opposite him, and his sword collection took up the wall on his left. 

Mikado drew the grey curtains close and switched out of his uniform. He turned on his laptop and sat down at his desk, not even bothering to turn on the lights. He scrolled through the news on his favorite news website. Like every other day there wasn't anything particularly interesting, though a small column did catch his eye. A unit of two dozen elite soldiers had gone missing. There was not much information regarding the case, only that the Ministry was doing all they could to locate them. The Chief of the Ministry of Defense had no comments on the matter. 

Mikado sighed, closing the tab and pulling up his English assignment that was due in two days. Try as he might he couldn't focus on any of it. He wasn't quite sure what made him do it, but he stood up and drew the curtains. 

The light from the crescent moon casted a dim glow into his room. He gazed out at the sky, and down across the buildings below. He didn't even know what he had been hoping to see, but whatever it was it wasn't there. He ended up going to be early, falling asleep as the moon casted its pale light across his covers. 

* * *

Natsuki Karasuma sat on the roof of the building, watching as the boy gaze up to the moon, before drawing his curtains with a dismissal shake of his head. 

Natsuki honestly wasn't sure what she was doing. This was probably bordering on stalking. Technically she _was stalking_ , but Mikado wasn't her target. She had been following Nagisa, but he had caught on faster than it was possible and vanished without a trace, leaving Natsuki frustrated enough to want to punch something. 

Then she had spotted Mikado walking alone, and had followed without a second thought. She wasn't entirely sure why. There was just something about him that made him... Different. Natsuki still couldn't pin point what exactly. Perhaps that was why she had followed him.

And sure enough Mikado had scaled the twenty story building to get into his apartment. 

Natsuki got up and walked away, heading back in the direction of the school dorms. She didn't know what the deal was with Mikado, but either way she shouldn't have let curiosity get the better of her. 

As long as he didn't intervene with her plans, Mikado Takahashi wouldn't matter to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update today cause the rest are going to take a little longer. It's been rather slow going but the action is in the next few chapters.


	6. Planning Time

"Did you hear?" Renji asked, turning around in his seat, resting his crossed arms on Mikado's desk, smack in the middle of his math homework. 

Mikado scowled, glaring irritably at Renji. The boy just couldn't seem to leave him alone. It was fairly early in the morning, and class wouldn't start for another half hour. Only five of them were in class this early, and unfortunately for Mikado, Renji was one of them. "Hear what?" He asked dryly when it was clear his classmate was expecting an answer from him and positively dying to talk about whatever bit of news he had. 

"Natsuki-chan is going out with Kaito-kun." 

Mikado paused at that, looking up from his work long enough to cast a glance at Natsuki. Unsurprisingly she had been the talk of the school the two days she had been here. Everyone who was anyone was talking about Kunugigaoka's very own goddess. Even the Fail Class' reputation couldn't seem to do anything to touch her. 

It was a real ear sore. 

She was currently talking to Hana and Farlan in a corner. Farlan said something in his foreign tongue and Natsuki laughed before relaying it to Hana in Japanese. 

Mikado didn't know why he was surprised. He felt disappointed, but not for the wrong reasons. Perhaps he had thought she would be different from the other girls. 

Apparently he was wrong. 

"I heard," he said finally, his tone making it clear he neither cared or wanted anything to do with the matter, "Good for them," he said flatly. 

Renji sighed, long and weary, "You're hopeless you know that?" Mikado rolled his eyes and ignored him. "Think I still stand a chance?" Renji asked jokingly. Despite himself Mikado smirked at that, "I wouldn't count on it," he said, "But you can sure try." 

It would be interesting to watch. 

"Right," Renji snorted and got up, "I'm going to go mess with 3-A," he said, "See you around." Mikado raised a hand without looking up. 

"Oh yeah, be in class fifteen minutes before school starts." 

Mikado frowned, glancing up, "Why?" He asked. Renji shrugged, "Misuki's orders. You should really just join the class chat," he said, and sauntered out of the classroom. 

Misuki?

His mind drew up an image of the assistant class rep who had been absent for the pass two days. 

What exactly was she planning? 

* * * 

Natsuki watched as Renji gave up and left Mikado alone. In the past two days she had gotten nowhere with him. Any form of conversation she tried to initiate would be met with a cold stare and a bored expression. 

On impulse, she excused herself from Farlan and Hana and walked over to Mikado, sitting down in Renji's newly empty seat. When it was obvious she wasn't going away, Mikado sighed, "What do you want?" He asked, no even looking up from his equations. 

"Hi," Natsuki said cheerfully, ignoring his question, "How's it going?" 

"It was going fine, until you and Renji showed up." Mikado said, his voice flat and cold. 

Natsuki rested her elbows on his desk and her chin on her palms, "Why are you like this?" She asked. 

"Trust me, I ask myself that everyday." Mikado glanced up, and she could see the frustration in his dark eyes. "Don't you have someone else to entertain you?" He asked, "I'm busy." 

"I don't find anyone else half as entertaining as you though," Natsuki said, batting her eyes. Mikado's expression remained stony. "What about your new boyfriend?" He asked. A smirk curled at a corner of her lips, "Jealous?" 

Mikado choked out a laugh, "Not in this lifetime," he said. He waved her away, "Go away would you?" He asked, "Kaito would have my hide if he thinks I'm trying anything funny." 

Somehow Natsuki doubted that would ever happen. She had caught him practicing kendo in the gym the day before. From what she saw, Mikado would floor Kaito in a heartbeat. 

"He's not my boyfriend," Natsuki said. 

"You should tell Renji that," he said, "Or maybe Kaito, and the whole school while you're at it."

Natsuki felt a wave of annoyance, at the mention of the baseball captain. She agreed to go out on a date with him, _a_ being the keyword, in order to gather more information on Nagisa. But she was starting to have second thoughts since Kaito couldn't seem to shut up about it. 

"Just because I agreed to go to a movie with him doesn't mean I'm dating him," Natsuki said. 

Mikado sighed, running a hand through his hair, irritated. "Listen," he said, looking her straight in the eye. "You might now get this from a lot of people, but the fact is this. I. Don't. Care." He said emphazing every word. "So would you please just go away?" 

"Then what do you care about?" Natsuki asked, genuinely curious. 

Mikado glared at her. By this time, the rest of their classmates were beginning to file in. He opened his mouth, but before he had a chance to reply the door slammed wide open. Mikado frowned, glancing over her head and Natsuki followed his gaze. 

A girl with short brown hair and a wide grin stood at the doorway. Her hazel eyes were glinting from behind her wire rim glasses. "Hello~ classmates!" she said in a singsong voice. 

"Who's that?" Natsuki asked. 

Mikado grimaced, "Misuki," he said, "She's rather..." He paused, searching for the right word, "Eccentric," he decided. That proved to be an understatement. 

"Misuki-chan, where have you been?" Kinata asked. The dark haired class rep was casually edging away from her, nearly backing right into Yuki.

That was clearly the wrong question to ask. Misuki chuckled, her brown eyes' glinted, "Oh you'll see." She tossed a bag on Akira's table, and ripped it open. They crowded around and Natsuki's eyes widened when she saw the contents of the bag. 

It was filled with handguns. 

It took her a second to realize that they were fakes, but they could have easily fooled an untrained eye. Sora laughed nervously, "What's all this?" He asked Misuki. 

"Glad you asked," Misuki said with a grin, "These are our plan," she said, picking on up and tossing it to Sora. Sora caught it and nearly dropped it. "Relax," Misuki chilled, "They're fakes." 

Before any of them could react, she picked a gun up and fired it at Mikado, point blank, without so much as blinking. There was a loud bang and a yell. "Ouch," Mikado complained, rubbing his arm, as a round pink plastic bullet the size of a small marble fell to the ground. "Did you have to fire at _me_?" He grumbled, "And the whole school probably heard that." Misuki ignored him, "See," she said, "Fake."

Kaito stepped forward and took a gun, "Where did you get this?" He asked. Natsuki took one as well, careful to keep her expression wary. It was a lot heavier for a fake than she expected. It was of higher quality than any toy gun she had seen before but the body of the gun was still clearly made of black plastic. It reminded her of the guns her father trained her with when she was too young to handle a real one. 

Suddenly the pistol felt a lot heavier in her hands. 

"You'd be surprised what you can buy online," Misuki was saying, "I spent the two whole days modifying their accuracy and range." 

"How on earth did you smuggle these in?" Renji asked, plucking the gun right out from Kaito's hand and inspecting it himself. 

Misuki smirked, "I have my ways," she said. She tossed her gun to Mikado, who caught it warily, "Here," she said, "It's on the house," she smiled, "Think we stand a chance against Nagisa-sensei now?" 

Mikado turned the gun in his hands. He cocked it, and aimed it at the back wall. He hesitated only a split second before firing. A smoking hole appeared on the noticeboard as the plastic bullet fell to the ground, bouncing off the tiled floors. Mikado smiled, a wild thing she never thought she'd see on his face, "You're amazing Misuki-chan," he said, there was genuine awe in his voice. 

It was the first time she had seen him smile. Natsuki glanced at Mikado. There was something in his dark eyes, a spark she had never seen before, as he stared at the bullet mark on the board. He looked so much better when he smiled. 

The plan was a simple one but judging by what Natsuki had heard from the others so far, it much better a plan than anything Class 3-F had ever attempted before. 

The plan was to get Nagisa alone, away from the other students and simply ambush him all out. They would be divided into two group. The first would go at him with knives, while the second group, the firing squad, would attack with the guns when he was distracted. As a bonus, they had the element of surprise on their side. Since they had only tried getting him with knives, they doubted he would ever expect guns from them. 

After all, it wasn't as if their teacher could dodge a bullet. As incredible as he was, no one was _that_ fast.

It was a flimsy plan, way too simple for it to be anything but a failure in Natsuki's opinion. There were so many ways it could go wrong, but she kept her mouth shut, and played the part of a confused new student. 

"You alright Natsuki-chan?" Akira asked, nudging her shoulder as Misuki went over the plan once more.

Natsuki abruptly snapped out of her thoughts and smiled at Akira, "Sorry," she said, schooling her expression into one of simple uncertainty, "It's just kind of strange. It's almost as if we're plotting to kill our teacher," she said, faking a slight tremble in her voice. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Mikado watching her closely, way too closely for her liking. 

"Yeah, it gets a while to get use to," Akira said, pushing a stray lock of her fiery red hair from her face. "Don't worry, it's just a game," she said reassuringly, "Nagisa-sensei is impossible to kill. Tenkai thinks he's an assassin undercover," she said with a snicker.

Tenkai looked up from his gun where he stood beside Kaito. Pink stained the scrawny boy's cheeks, "Shut up," he muttered under his breath, "I was just joking."

They had no idea. 

Natsuki gripped her gun. Her mother once told her that nearly all plans, no matter how well planned and executed they were would go south at one point or another. Most of the time, it didn't matter. What did matter was how you reacted when it happened. That was what determined the success of a mission. 

Natsuki smiled. She was certain this plan would go wrong and when it did, she would be ready. 

"The only problem is, how are we supposed to get Nagisa-sensei alone?" Jin spoke up, tapping a finger against his gun in a nervous rhythm. Beside him Koharu frowned, "Why don't we just ask him?" She suggested. 

"Yeah, let's do that," Kaito said, his voice thick with sarcasm, "As if he's going to agree with his own assassination plan."


	7. Action Time (Part I)

"You want to try out an assassination plan? No problem," Nagisa said with a closed-eye smile. 

_"What?"_

Nagisa chuckled, looking mildly amused, "What's wrong?" He asked, as the entire class stared at him, stunned. "Of course I would agree to my own assassination plan. My students planned it after all." 

Mikado crossed his arms and leaned back against his seat as the class erupted into chaos. After the past four months, he honestly couldn't find it in himself to be surprised by their teacher anymore. Time and time again Nagisa-sensei had proved to them that he was far from an ordinary teacher. 

He was amazing, even though his sense of self-preservation was basically nonexistent. 

"Should we fix a time then?" Nagisa asked, after the others had quiet down enough to hear him speak. Murmurs of discussion rose in the class and Mikado waited, fingering the trigger of the fake gun hidden in his pocket. 

He honestly couldn't predict how this would turn out. Nagisa hadn't said anything about them working as a class, and they hadn't asked either. Would they win as a class? Or would the first student to land a hit on him win his prize? 

None of the others seem to have thought about it, either that or they were keeping quiet like Mikado was. So far, this was the only plan they had come up with that seemed to stand even the slightest chance of succeeding. Anyone with half a brain knew the best option would be to act now and argue about the credit later. Mikado didn't even care much for the last part, he was just dying to try the plan out, whether it succeeded or no hardly mattered to him. 

And judging by the look in her eye when they handed out the guns, Natsuki felt the same way. 

He stole a glance at the girl, seated three rows down from him. She was talking to Yuki, her expression relaxed though slightly troubled. As expected of a transfer student who had just join a class that had planned on killing their homeroom teacher as casually as they would plan a study session. 

It didn't fool Mikado though. He had seen the gleam in her blue eyes; a look he knew all too well. He saw it in his own eyes whenever he was planning something he would probably regret the day after. That alone was enough to send warning bells ringing in the back of his mind. 

What game was she playing? 

Mikado's grip tightened on his gun. He didn't understand half of it, but one thing was for certain. She was definitely not who they thought she was. There was just something really off about Natsuki Karasuma. He didn't like any of where this was going, but he would play along, for now. 

In the end, Nagisa agreed to meet them after school in their classroom. The rest of the day turned out to be complete torture. Classes went on as usual, but it was clear that no one was paying attention. Mikado could hardly concentrate on anything except for the clock above the whiteboard, which seemed to tick slower as the day dragged on. And he certainly wasn't the only one. 

By the final bell, the pent up energy in the room had reached a breaking point. The entire class was restless; Mikado could almost feel the eagerness and agitation radiating off everyone around him, as they waited for their homeroom teacher to arrive. The class was quiet for once, with only the sound of Jin drumming his fingers on his table to break the heavy silence.

Mikado listened to the sound of laughter and locker doors slamming as the students from the other classes left the floor, taking their time and just generally being a nuisance. Only when the last of the student had left and the commotion outside had died down considerably, did he hear the faint sound of footsteps striding purposely in the direction of their classroom. 

Mikado drew his gun, his heart rate quickening, his every instinct on edge. He glanced to his right and saw Misuki doing the same. She caught his eye and grinned wildly, shooting him a thumbs up. He smirked in return, before turning his attention to the door. 

A second passed, then another, and the opened with a creak. Nagisa walked in, closing the door behind him quietly. "Good afternoon class," he said, grinning his usual good natured smile, as he strolled up to the teacher's table, casual and unbothered by the lack of response he was getting from them. 

"So," he set his sling bag down on his chair, and leaning against the table, "How is this supposed to work?" He asked. 

There was a split second of silence. Then... 

"Nagisa-sensei!" 

Nagisa turned to Ichiro seated in the front right corner of the class, close to the door, and the room exploded into motion. The students seated in the two front rows lunged forward, knifes drawn. 

"Oh, so that's how it is, huh?" Nagisa said, and he moved. 

Mikado had always known he was fast, but this was different. Nagisa dodged their strikes with an almost casual ease, and all nine blades sliced through empty air again and again. He avoiding their strikes by simply shoving their arms out of the way, and moved behind another person when he couldn't. 

He was using their numbers against them. 

"Firing squad now!" 

Mikado stood up along with the last two rows, as the students in front abruptly dropped their knives, pulling out their guns. Mikado saw Nagisa's eyes widen ever so slightly, just before they opened fire. 

The sounds of guns going off was deafening. There was a loud crash, and the next second they were firing at the teacher's table Nagisa had flipped over, their multi coloured bullets ricocheting off the wooden surface. 

The firing continued for a good ten seconds, before Mikado realized something was wrong. He stopped firing, shouting above the sound of gunfire for the others to do the same. He stepped forward, elbowing past Kaito and ignoring the look of annoyance aimed his way. 

He approached the overturned desk, gun held at ready. Not that it was necessary; there was no one behind the table. 

How did he...? 

"He's gone!" Mikado yelled, his head whipping in the direction of the door, which he only noticed now was thrown wide open. He was out the door in a second, his classmates right at his heels. "Spread out and search for him!" He shouted, "He couldn't have gotten far!" 

He heard a snort from behind him and glanced over his shoulder. "Now, who exactly put you in charge, Takahashi-kun?" Kaito asked, strolling out of the class, hands in his pockets. Mikado gritted his teeth, "Do you have a better idea?" He snapped. Every second they spent arguing was a second wasted. Nagisa was getting further away as they spoke. 

"No but-" 

"Then just do as I say!" Mikado growled, "Get your friends and cover the top floor." Kaito clenched his jaw, looking ready for a fight but seemed to change his mind at the last second. He snorted and did as he was told, taking Hiro, Hashimaru, Tenkai, and Ichiro with him. 

With Kaito out of his way, Mikado turned to the assistant class rep whose look of eager anticipation was really starting to worry him. "Mitsuki-chan!" He raised an eyebrow, "Think you girls can handle the two floors below?" 

Misuki smirked, "Obviously," she said, "Come on!" She said taking off for the stairs, the other five girls following her lead. 

That left Mikado with Renji, Sora, Farlan and Jin. Mikado tightened his grip on his gun, "Everyone else follow me!"

They ran down the corridor, silent spare for the sound of their heavy footfalls on the ground. Mikado's heart was pounding like mad, and he felt the familiar thrill of a excitement running down his spine. It was exhilarating. 

The rounded around the corner and he saw a flash of blue on the other end of the corridor. He didn't even pause to think twice, raising his gun and firing. His shot was a mile off. He heard a laugh, and saw a glimpse of blue hair disappeared around the bend. 

At the moment two things hit him. 

One, he was an absolutely terrible shot - probably because he spent more time with blades than firearms. Two, only five girls had followed Misuki. 

Where was Natsuki? 

Mikado cursed under his breath and tore after Nagisa. "Where's Natsuki-chan?" He asked as they ran. Farlan glanced at him quizzically, "Follow... Kaito?" He suggested. Mikado highly doubted that. "I don't think I saw her," Ichiro said, voicing his very thoughts. Mikado glanced back at Renji and Sora, who were barely keeping up, and they simply shrugged in response. 

He didn't have time for this. 

"Doesn't matter," he said. They reached the end of the corridor, and Mikado stopped so fast Renji crashed right into his back. They had been so focused on getting Nagisa they hadn't realized where they were. 

The corridor ahead lead to the school's facility wing. Rows upon rows of door lined the hallway ahead, leading to laboratories, music rooms, lecture halls and storage rooms. The lights were off and the wing was deserted, leaving their target with countless of places to hide. 

Mikado felt his mouth go dry. There was no way they could search the entire place with only the five of them. He suddenly wished they had thought of bringing their phones or maybe even walkie talkies. Renji laughed nervously, "This is going to take a while," he said. 

"You think?" Sora muttered, peering into the dimly lit hallway and shoving his glasses up his nose, "This place always gives me the creeps," he said, looking anxious. 

Mikado chewed his lip, thinking. Finding their teacher was definitely not going to be an easy task. If Nagisa could slip out right from under their noses during a hail of gunfire, who's to say he wouldn't do the same even if they did find him? The only plus side was that there was only one entrance and exit from the facility wing. He was trapped. 

"Sora-kun," Mikado turned to him, "Find the others and bring them here," he said, "We're not going to be able to do this with so little of us." 

Sora was visibly relieved, "No problem," he said, "I'll be back," he promised before turning and darting back the way they came. 

"What about us?" Jin asked, pushing his purple hair out of his eyes. Mikado raised his gun at ready and grinned, "We're going in obviously," he said. 

* * *

Nagisa walked quickly down the dim hallways on silently feet. He heard the sound of doors slamming open not far behind him, and voices of the five boys that had tailed him all the way to the facility wing drifting down the corridor.

He had to admit they had caught him by surprise with the guns. He should have known that they would have find a way to get their hands on counterfeit firearms sooner or later. The fake guns had enough firepower to pass of as real ones. It was Misuki's work no doubt; the girl was a genius when it came to machines of any kind. Nagisa couldn't help but smile. 

They were getting a lot better at woking together, but they could still do a lot better. 

He wondered how they would react to a game of hide and seek. But first, he had to find a place to hide. Nagisa eventually found himself standing outside the music room. He pushed the doors open, as silently as possible and slipped in. The curtain in the room where drawn open and he had to blink a few times against the sunlight streaming in from the floor to ceiling windows. 

He froze when he heard the click of a gun being loaded. He turned his head and saw Natsuki standing on his left barely two meters away with gun aimed straight for his head. 

Nagisa raised his hands slowly, "Natsuki-chan," he said with a small smile. 

Natsuki's lips twisted into a cold smirk, there was something deadly in those brilliant blue eyes, "Hello, Nagisa-sensei."


	8. Action Time (Part II)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long Chapter Alert!!!

Nagisa felt a trickle of sweat slide down his face. He heard the sound of door slamming open somewhere outside, but he didn't dare take his eyes off Natsuki. 

"How did you know I would come here?" He asked. 

Natsuki tilted her head, "I memorized the floorplan remember?" She said, "The facility wing was the logical choice, though I must say I didn't think you'd trap yourself in." 

"And the music room?" 

Natsuki shrugged, "Lockable firedoor, and with all the stuff in here it's the first place I would think of hiding, especially if I'm being chased by a bunch of impulsive teens while thinking." 

She was clever, he'd give her that. 

He couldn't run, that was for sure. She would shoot him the second he so much as looked in the direction of the door, and knowing her parents he was fairly certain she wouldn't miss. That meant he would have to fight, as for how he would do it he wasn't entirely sure. The closest weapon he had was a music stand two feet away. But something else nagged at the back of his mind. She could have just shot him the second he entered the room, but she didn't. Now why was that? 

"What happens now?" He asked. 

Natsuki jerked her chin to the side, silently ordering him to move forward. Nagisa did as he was told, smiling faintly. Natsuki moved so that she was between him and the door and locked it, her gun trained on him the entire time.

"Why aren't you shooting me?" He asked, probably not the wisest choice he had ever made, but Natsuki chuckled and promptly threw the gun aside. "Because I want a real fight," she said, twin knives appearing in her hands with a flash of silver. Nagisa couldn't even tell where they had came from. 

She tossed of the knives over to him, which he caught by the hilt before it stabbed him straight in the forehead. Nagisa lowered the knife with a slight frown, "You could have just shot me and you would have won," he said, "What are you trying to prove?" 

The room was way to o bright for her to hide in her shadows. Judging from the on how she had fought on the first night he met her, Nagisa had gathered that like himself, she was more of an assassin than a fighter. By facing him head on, she was putting herself at the disadvantage when she could have easily achieved her goal. An assassin wouldn't have made such a decision. Pride would be her downfall. 

"Winning isn't the point," Natsuki snapped, "Killing you and proving to my old man that I am strong is."

Nagisa's eyebrows drew together. He really needed to have a word with Karasuma-sensei after all this was over. If she was that desperate to worth to her father, there were a few things he needed to teach her. 

"Very well," Nagisa said, bending his knees and reversing his grip on the knife, "I won't run away," he smiled, "Let's see what you've got, Natsuki Karasuma." 

Natsuki smiled coldy, "Oh, you'll see," she said, and lunged forward. 

* * * 

Mikado stood at the doorway leading into the chemistry laboratory, gun held at ready. He stepped into the dark room on silent feet, Farlan, Renji and Jin right behind him.

But then he heard a crash from outside and froze. He exchanged glances with the other three boys. "Came from down the hallway," Jin said, and they left the laboratory without another word. 

Another crash lead them to the music room. Mikado tried opening the door, but the was locked. He rammed his shoulder into the heavy door, but didn't budge in inch and remained firmly shut. "Locked," he announced, giving up and stepping back, "Nagisa's definitely in there all right," he said. And judging by the crashes, there was definitely someone in there with him, or perhaps a few someones. 

Mikado glared at the door. There was no way they were going to open it without a key. 

"Ichiro-kun could probably pick that lock," Jin spoke up. Renji frowned, "Why on earth would he know how to pick locks?" He asked. Jin shrugged, "He used to pick the locks to the music room and we would steal... Uh... I mean borrow the guitar," he said. 

Mikado gritted his teeth, "Where is Sora-kun?" He asked, glancing down the dark corridor, but the blue haired bookworm was no where in sight. "Think he just went home honestly," Renji said. "He wouldn't do that," Mikado said without hesitation. He stared at the locked door before him. 

If you can get through, go over or around. 

"I've got and idea!" Mikado said and turned, running back down the hallway, not even bothering to see if the others followed him. 

He ran up the stairs to the top floor, taking two steps at in one go, with the other three boys running and yelling after him. He found his way to the room to the spare classroom, situated directly above the music room, and made his way to the window. 

"Mikado-kun! Are you insane?" He heard Renji shout, as he opened the window and leapt out onto the ledge without hesitation. "Hey!" They ran to the window, but Mikado was already on the far end of the ledge. 

"Mikado... Don't. Wait for... others come," Farlan said. The foreign boy's face had gone deathly pale as he stared down at the drop. "No time to wait," Mikado said, moving to the edge of the ledge and finding a foothold on a pipe. 

He glanced back at the others and saw the concern in his classmates' eyes. He smiled a little, "Relax, I'll be fine," he reassured them, "I do this all the time," he said. _"Since when?"_ Renji demanded but Mikado ignored him. 

He tested his weight on the pipe. It was flimsy and made from plastic, but it would hopefully it would hold. He gripped the pipe and began his decend, the others still shouting at him. 

The short climb down was a painfully slow one. The pipe was covered with green mold and there were barely any handhold for him. His fingers slipped, more than once, but Mikado held on. The muscles in his arms were beginning to burn by the time he reached the floor below. Thankfully the ledge was wide enough to accommodate two of him standing shoulder to shoulder. His heart pounding, he stepped onto the ledge, pressing his back against the wall, and made his way carefully over to the huge floor to ceiling windows. 

The curtains were drawn open, and Mikado peered inside. His eyes widened. 

"Mikado-kun! What's going on?" He heard Renji shouting from above. Mikado was too shocked to even reply. 

Natsuki, it was Natsuki who was in the room with Nagisa. 

Mikado watched as they fought, locked in a deadly dance, their knives clashing over and over again. Not the plastic and rubber knives they usually used, but real, polished metal blades wicked edges. 

They were moving so fast his eyes could barely keep up with them. But he could tell Natsuki was on the offensive while Nagisa fought more to protect himself than to land a strike on her. 

Where did they learn to fight like that? It looked like something straight out of an action movie. 

Mikado couldn't look away as he watched them fight, a feeling he couldn't quite identify curling in the pit of his stomach as he stared at Natsuki. It wasn't a student and a teacher he saw in that room. 

No, he saw two highly trained assassins. 

* * * 

Natsuki was really starting to regret giving him the knife. Nagisa was good, a lot better than she had anticipated. She had the dire feeling that he would fair just fine even without the borrowed blade. 

He kept firmly on the defensive, and didn't attack, not even once. Still Natsuki couldn't land a single strike on him. No matter what she tried, he was always just a step ahead of her. She struck again and he dodged once more. She wanted to rip that ridiculously kind smile of his face. 

He was almost as good as her father. 

That made her even more determined to win this fight. But at this rate there wasn't a chance in hell she was going to beat him. Natsuki gritted her teeth and she retreated, putting distance between them.

"Are we done here?" Nagisa asked, a glint of amusement gleaming in his eyes behind his glasses. Natsuki snorted, gripping her knife, "Of course not." 

She would kill him, no matter what. 

"Alright, what's next then?" Nagisa asked, flipping the knife idly in his hand with a smile. Natsuki eyed him coldy. She stepped back and straightened, "Say teach," she pointed her knife at him, "Are you just an assassin or do you consider yourself a real teacher?" 

To a satisfaction Nagisa's smile slipped a little at that. "Of course I consider myself a real teacher," he said, a crease appearing in between his eyebrows, "More of a teacher than an assassin really." 

"So does that mean you'll do anything protect your students?" 

Nagisa frowned, "Of course," he answered without hesitation. 

A smirk curled at Natsuki's lips, "In that case..." She reversed her grip on her knife, so that it pointed to herself instead of him. She saw the smile on his lips fade entirely when he realized she wasn't bluffing. 

She raised her knife. 

"Wait, Natsuki!" 

Nagisa leapt forward, free hand outstretched. Natsuki smiled. Faster than he could react she turned, shoving his outstretched arm aside and slamming her foot into his other hand. The knife flew out of his hand and landed on the floor with a clater. 

Natsuki turned her knife in her hand and stabbed upwards but Nagisa had already retreated a few lengths away. 

Nagisa rubbed his hand, "Now that's just cheating," he said, for some reason his smile had returned. "Everything is fair in assassination," Natsuki said, smirking as she stalked over to him, knife gripped tightly at her side. 

Nagisa grimaced, "You got me again," he admitted. He sighed, "They really taught you well didn't they?" He took of his glasses, and time almost seemed to slow down as he let them fall to the ground. 

"But they didn't teach you everything." 

Natsuki watched the rimless glasses fall, before she had a chance to even comprehend what was going on, Nagisa was right in front of her. 

It felt like being struck by lightning. 

The last thing she saw as his empty hands coming together in a clap, barely inches from her face, and the next second she was falling backwards. 

Before she even understood what had happened, Natsuki found herself staring up at the ceiling. Nagisa stood at her side, her knife in his hand. His bright blue eyes almost seemed to glow as he stared down at her with a faint smile om his face. 

_A viper poised to strike._

"What... was that?" Natsuki asked, sitting up, she so stunned there wasn't even a trace of contempt in her voice. Nagisa smiled, "And old trick," he said, "I learned it went I was about you age in fact," he grinned, "If you want, I could teach it to you." Natsuki didn't reply. 

"But I must say, I will not tolerate you putting your life on the line to end mine," Nagisa sighed rubbing the back of his neck, "You're exactly like an old classmate of mine," he said, "He even tried the same trick with our teacher." 

Nagisa chuckled and crouched down, picking up his glasses. "Listen Natsuki-chan," he said, cleaning his glasses with the edge of his shirt, "You are amazing," he said, glancing up at her, "You have nothing to prove to Karasuma-sensei, in fact I have no doubt you would surpass him in the future." 

Nagisa smiled, "I know you don't want to be here," he said, "But I'm sure your father only wants what's best for you. Just like any other parent. He sent you here to learn after all." 

"What are you saying?" Natsuki snapped, having recovered enough to speak. 

He shoved his glasses back on his nose, "From my experience you can never learn enough," he said, "My point is, you are an incredibly talented young lady but you still have a lot to learn." He stood up and offered her a hand. "Think about it, what's the harm in sharpening your blades with the rest of the class anyway?" 

As much as she hated to admit it, Nagisa was right. She snorted, swatting his hand away and scrabbling to her feet on her own. Nagisa looked unruffled by her coldness. He flipped the knife and offered her the hilt, smiling a little. 

Natsuki hesitated before accepted the blade. She paused for a long moment, "Fine," she said finally, "Teach me then," she said. Nagisa's smile widened, "I look forward to it."

* * * 

Mikado made his way back up to the top floor. His hands were trembling as he climbed, and his mind was racing like mad. 

What the hell did he just see? 

He suspected it long ago, but now he was certain Nagisa wasn't an ordinary teacher, or person even. Now that he thought about it, it had been so blindly obvious. And as for Natsuki... Natsuki wasn't just some girl with a pretty face she had lead everyone to believe she was. 

She had lied to them all. 

Mikado hauled himself back up onto the ledge stood up, climbing back into the classroom. "You guys I..." he looked up and abruptly trailed off. His heart sank into the pit of his stomach. 

Renji, Jin and Farlan stood where he had left them their eyes fixed firmly on the floor. And standing directly behind them was Principal Asano, a twisted smile on his lips that would haunt Mikado's nightmares for the weeks to come. 

One look at his expression and he knew they were so very, very dead. 

* * * 

"Now tell me, what exactly were all of you thinking?" 

Mikado stood between Farlan and Renji in the principal's spacious office. The rest of the class was gathered in the unnecessarily large room. None of them spoke or even dared to look up for that matter. 

Mikado stole a look at the principal who was currently sitting behind his desk, and saw him looking directly at him, those burning violet eyes staring straight into his soul. Against his better judgement Mikado refused to look away, keeping his expression carefully blank. 

Mikado never really knew what to make of Gakushuu Asano. He was undeniably a smart man. From what he had heard, their principal had been one of the country's most influential politicians, until a rival had finally kicked him out of the bureaucracy. Mikado didn't know how true that was, but with his combed back strawberry blond hair, twisted smile and cruel eyes, he had always thought that their principal looked more like corrupted politician - or maybe a serial killer - than an actual teacher. 

"If no one's going to answer," Asano smiled, leaning forward and lacing his fingers together, "Let's start with you, Takahashi-kun," he said, "What exactly were you doing climbing into the facility wing?" 

"I wasn't climbing into the facility wing," Mikado said calmly. 

"Oh? Then what were you doing?" 

Mikado stared at him, unflinching, "I was climbing down the facility wing, then back up," he said flatly. 

He heard a sniker from somewhere in the back. Beside him Renji let out a strangled sound that sounded partially amused and partially exasperated. Mikado and resisted the urge to smile. He was playing with fire, but at this point he doubted he could make things much worse. 

"Is that so?" Something flashed across the principal's eyes. Asano stood up and walked around his desk. He stepped forward, linking his hands behind his back and bending down till he was face to face with Mikado. Mikado inched backwards ever so slightly but kept his expression neutral. "Did you know that the school board has every right to expell you for breaking an entry school property?" 

Mikado's eyebrows drew together, "But I didn't..." 

"Didn't break an entry? But from what I saw you were clearly climbing into the facility wing, which so happens to be closed at the moment, and you were doing so after school hours." There was cruel amusement dancing in those violet eyes. "From my point of view. It sure looks like you were, Takahashi-kun." 

Mikado gritted his teeth, and kept silent. 

"What's the matter?" Asano asked, "No comeback?" His voice was mocking. Mikado swallowed his retort and glared at the man. Asano smirked, "I thought so," he said. He turned and picked up one the many fake guns lying discarded on his table. "Tell me, what is this?" He asked. 

When none of them replied Asano placed the gun on back on his desk, "You know, I've had my eye on Class 3-F for a while now," he said and paused, looking at each and every single one of them, "Bad grades, problematic attitudes, constantly smuggling illegal items," he tapped his finger against one of the guns, "You are nothing but an inconvenience holding the entire school back," He smiled, "Kunugigaoka is for the talented, it has no use for students like you," he cocked his head, "So why shouldn't I just expell all of you?" 

Mikado glanced beside him, and saw Renji's eyes widening in horror at the principal's very words. 

"Now of course before I do so, I am quite willing to hear you out." Asano's eyes flickered, "From what I understand, according to Reneki-kun this entire thing was Takahashi-kun's idea and you all were only following his orders." Asano's glanced at him, and Mikado clenched his jaw. 

When this was over he was going to murder Kaito. 

"If this is true, I'll be willing to give the class a second chance and only expel Takahashi-kun." The principal smiled, sweeping his gaze across the class, "All I need is your confirmation." Mikado wondered if it was possible to hate a person more than he did at that very moment.

There was a tense silence. Mikado saw his classmates exchanging glances, their expressions ranging from determined to unsure. He couldn't tell what they were thinking. 

But before any of them could reply. The door slammed open with a bang. 

"Asano-san!" 

Mikado turned around at the sound of the familiar voice. "Nagisa-sensei!" Someone exclaimed, probably Kinata by the sound of it. Nagisa walked in, Natsuki trailing behind him, her expression a mask of worry. 

Just another one of her masks. 

The smile faded from Asano's lips, as Nagisa walked up to them. "Shiota-san," he scowled, "What are you doing here?" 

"I gave them the permission to bring the guns, as well as the use of the facility wing," Nagisa said, "The fault is entirely mine, it has nothing to do with the students." 

"Nagisa-sensei..." Mikado murmured. His teacher didn't even look at him. 

Asano sat back down in his chair, "Really?" He asked, eyeing Nagisa with hooded eyes. Their homeroom teacher nodded stiffly. The principal was quiet for a long moment. Finally he said, "If that's the case, all of you may return to your class and await further instruction regarding your punishment," he turned his gaze to Nagisa, "I need to have a word with your teacher." 

The tone of his voice sent centipedes crawling down Mikado's spine. 

His classmates did as they were told, looking relieved as they hurried out the door. But Mikado didn't move. "Sensei," Mikado didn't know what else to say. Nagisa glanced at him with a smile, "Everything's fine, Mikado-kun," he said, "Go back with the others, and watch he class for me will you?" 

Mikado hesitated a split second before reluctantly leaving the room. He found Natsuki standing by the doorway, her gaze fixed on their teacher, her expression unreadable. She didn't look at him as he walked pass, and neither did he glance her way. 

* * * 

Mikado felt absolutely horrible. 

He sat in his seat, gazing out the window. The entire classroom was deathly quiet. From the reflection of the glass, Mikado watched his classmates as they sat in pin drop silence, staring blankly at nothing or scratching their nails absentmindedly on thier tables. They looked about as miserable as he felt. 

His keen ears caught the sound of footsteps approaching and he sat up straighter. The door opened and Nagisa walked in. 

"Nagisa-sensei! We're so sorry!" Akira shouted before anyone else could. The room burst into a chorus of similar apologies. Mikado only stared down at his table, his fingers curled into fist. 

Kaito may be a traitorous jerk, but he was right about one thing. It was his fault. It was his leadership that got them caught. 

"You have nothing to be sorry for," he heard their teacher say, "All of you." Mikado glanced up and saw Nagisa smiling lightly, "I should have been more careful about it," he said, "I have to say you guys did very well working together and your guns definitely caught me by surprise." 

He praised them, like he always did after every assassination attempt they had done before. But it didn't make them feel any better, not this time. No one was smiling this time. 

"Anyway, I cleared things up with Principal Asano, so you don't need to be worried about being expelled." 

There was a short silence following Nagisa's words. "What's the catch?" Koharu asked, leaning back against her seat and crossing her arms. 

Nagisa smiled, but it looked rather strained. "Very good, Koharu-chan," he said. "The catch is, all of you will have to rank in the top ten of at least one subject in the following mid-year examinations." 

There was a pause, then...

_"What?"_ At least half the class shouted in union. 

"Uh, Nagisa-sensei, you do realize we're called the Fail Class right?" Tenkai spoke up. Nagisa clicked his tongue, "Be positive Tenkai-kun," he said, "I'm sure if you all out in a little effort, achieving Principal Asano's goal would be quite simple." 

"And if we fail?" Mikado asked. 

Nagisa looked at him, "I sure all of you wouldn't," he said. The sheer confidence in his voice was almost enough to reassure them. Almost. 

"Fail or no, like I said, none of you will be expelled," Nagisa said, something flickered in his clear blue eyes, "But I suggest you give it your all." He smiled, "I'm sure all of you can do it." 

The class had gone quiet again. Mikado sensed the pressure building silently in the room, threatening to crush them all to dust with just the slightest shove in the wrong direction.

"On a completely unrelated note I have some news for you all," Nagisa said, his voice breaking through the heavy silence. 

_What now?_

Mikado felt the tension in the room rising once again, but Nagisa only grinned. 

"I'm getting married next week," he said, smiling with his eyes closed, "And all of you are invited to my reception."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo was going to break this up into two chapters but I thought: meh.


	9. Bonus #1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not an update. But here's a _very_ rough sketch of Mikado, Natsuki and Nagisa :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while alright? 
> 
> I regret nothing.


	10. Past Time

_"Fight!"_

_Natsuki gritted her teeth and raised her wodden blade. Her father's sword slammed into's hers, the sheer force of it making her teeth vibrate, it took all her strength and both her hands to hold her position. But she could tell he was going easy on her, of course he was, just like he always did._

_"Fight as if your life depends on it!"_

_Natsuki blocked his next strike, her arms straining. Her lips curling back into a snarl of effort. She shoved his wooden blade aside, swinging her sword at his unguarded side. He blocked easily, dark eyes burning._

_"Because one day it might."_

_It already had. She remembered that day, she remembered it as clear as if it were yesterday. The memory haunted her to no end. She still had vivid nightmares of it._

The glint of a blade. 

A scream. 

Blood on her hands.

_Natsuki screamed, bringing her sword down on him again and again. Her father blocked, over and over, every single time. The sound of the wodden clashing of their swords ringing across the sparring room._

_She hated this._

_She leapt over his blade as he swung it low and brought her own down on his head, he dodged it with inhuman speed._

_She hated her father for pushing her every single day. Training her like she was one of his soldiers. She wished it could be like before, before everything happened. When she was just a normal girl._

_But then she never was a normal girl._

_Not with a soldier and a military assassin for parents._

_She could not go back to before. Not anymore. Not after everything that had happened._

_She swing her sword again and her father ducked, kicking out his leg, too fast for her to dodge. Before she knew it, Natsuki found herself on her back, staring up at the grey ceiling, her father's wooden sword at her throat._

_"You're not ready," her father said, his voice hard and his face emotionless. He angling his sparring sword away, and he offered her a hand. Natsuki took one look at it and slapped it away, pushing herself back up with her sword and walking away._

_"Natsuki..."_

_"Leave me alone!" She snapped, glancing back at him once, "I hate you." Her father remained silent, his expression unreadable like always. She threw her sword aside where it landed with a clatter on the wodden floor, and stalked out the exit._

_"Target practice at four," she heard him say from behind her, "Be there." Natsuki ignored him and slammed the door shut._

_She made it halfway down the corridor when she ran into one of her father's soldiers. The young dark haired Elite Forces recruit with the lopsided smirk. "Hey there Natsuki, back from training?" he asked, "Have you see Karasuma-sama?" Natsuki ignored his question and brushed past him._

_"Hey wait! I'm talking to you girl."_

_Natsuki felt his hand close around her arm and reacted on instict, whirling around and slamming her fist into his stomach. He doubled over and she twisted her wrist out of his grasp. She turned, grabbing hold of his arm and kicking the back of his legs, so that he fell onto the ground. Before the man could even draw a breath he was on his knees with his arm twisted in a painful angle behind his back._

_"Don't," Natsuki hissed, the single word was laced with poison, "Ever touch me."_

_She slammed her elbow into back of his head before he could reply._

* * *

Natsuki woke up with a scream on her lips. She sat bolt upright, breathing hard, her heart pounding painfully fast against her ribcage. She ran her hands through her hair, taking a deep breath and forcing herself to calm down. 

She hadn't had a nightmare of that day in years.

Blood sliding down her wrist. 

Dead eyes staring at her without seeing. 

Natsuki shoved the mental image out of her head, instinctively reaching for the blade hidden under the mattress of her bed. Her fingers closed around the hilt and the blind panic eased a little. 

Natsuki pulled out the blade, turning it slowly in her hands. She glanced down at the flat of the blade and haunted blue eyes stared up at her. Natsuki gritted her teeth, gripping the hilt of the knife and flinging it with all her strength towards the closet in the corner. 

The knife sank into the wooden wall with enough force that its entire blade had vanished into the dark wood. The sound of it was loud enough she was sure she had to have woken Hana up, whose dorm room was on the other side of the wall. Natsuki hardly cared. 

She ran her hand through her hair once more and stood up. She got dressed, hating how her hands trembled as she tied her hair in a high ponytail. Seven years later and she was still that little girl afraid of the nightmares that hounded her endlessly. Natsuki gritted her teeth. 

She had get a god damn grip on herself. 

It was about 5:30 a.m. in the morning and she had about two hours before class started. She grabbed a towel and walked out of the room, locking the door behind her and headed to the school's running track. 

She didn't met anyone on her way out. The school was quiet, and there wasn't a single soul wandering around the empty hallways. There weren't many who stayed in the dorms to begin with, and none of them would be awake this ridiculously early. 

Natsuki arrived at the deserted track and felt a cool breeze brush she cheek. Dawn was still a good half hour away, and the place was dark enough that no unwanted eyes would spot her from a distance. She didn't pause to warm up before she starting off in a sprint. 

Three days had passed since Nagisa's wedding announcement and the Fail Class' failed assassination attempt on their teacher. Thankfully no one in class seemed to have noticed her absence during that day at all. Everything went on as usual, and classes continued as if nothing had ever happened. 

Natsuki spent the time blending in and doing ordinary things a normal girl would do. She went out with friends, spent her mornings copying homework she didn't need to, ate lunch with her classmates and gossiped with the other girls in the dorm rooms late into the night. It was a nice break from her real life though she knew it would never last. She had even gone out with Kaito, who turned out to be as much a privileged jerk as she had first made him out to be. 

She had also been thinking a lot about what Nagisa said. 

Natsuki ran faster, till she felt the muscles in her legs begin to burn. After failing to kill him, he didn't know what to think anymore, and part of her didn't want to. So she cleared her head and ran. 

Away from her troubles, away from her worries. For just a moment she would forget about everything. About the fact that she had not heard from her mother for almost a year, about all her problems with at her father, and the frustration of being unable to kill her homeroom teacher to prove him wrong. 

So Natsuki ran and continued to run, even as the air felt like fire in her lungs. 

* * *

_"Don't you think you're pushing her too hard?"_

_Karasuma glanced over his shoulder as he saw Irina walking into the sparring room. He picked up Natsuki's discarded sword, and replaced it on the rack along with his own._

_"I've been going easy on her," he stated, "She can do better. A lot better." He turned back to his wife and saw her glaring at him, arms crossed, "She's nine Tadaomi, not nineteen."_

_He was silent at that._

_"Maybe we shouldn't have done this so soon."_

_Karasuma scowled, "We both know that wouldn't work out," he said flatly, "We've already started down on this path, there's no turning back." Irina frowned at him, "You said you were going to teach her how to defend herself," she snapped, walking over to him and stopping right in front of him. "What sort of self defense uses swords and knives?" She stabbed a finger at the door where Natsuki at stormed out, "That wasn't self defense, that was assassination!"_

_"Do you honestly think self defense is going to work on your enemies?" He retorted, his temper getting the better of him, "You saw what happened last time!" Irina's eyes were cold, "So you're planning to turn our daughter into a killer?" Karasuma clenched his jaw, "I..." He pressed his lips together._

_Was that what he had been doing?_

_"I don't know," he leaned against the wall, all the fight suddenly leaving him. He was tired, he realized, tired of training his daughter like any other recruit, tired of looking at the hate and anger in her eyes. It killed him to see the hatred aimed at him in her expression._

I hate you.

_"We... I can't lose her again," he said quietly, "I... just can't."_

_Irina clenched her jaw and something flickered across her clear blue eyes, "I know what you mean," she said rubbing her arms with a sigh, "But if this goes on we might end up just loosing her all over again," she glanced at the door, "And I don't mean to our enemies."_

* * *

Karasuma stood outside the cafe a few blocks away from Kunugigaoka where Nagisa had requested meet him at. He didn't know why the bitter memory chose to resurface at that particular moment. Nevertheless he pushed the old memory aside and walked into the coffeeshop. A chime of bells at the door greeted him and the sweet scent of coffee hit his nose the second he stepped into the cafe. 

He scanned the customers till he spotted his former student's familiar light blue hair, standing out blindingly obvious amongst the other customers. Karasuma walked over. 

"Nagisa-kun." 

Nagisa glanced up from his laptop and grinned. He closed his laptop with a snap and stood up, "Karasuma-sensei," he smiled, "I'm so glad you could make it." 

"Didn't really have a choice now did I?" Karasuma said with a half smile as they sat back down, "Congratulations on the wedding by the way," he said. Nagisa chuckled scratching the back of his head sheepishly, "Thanks, sensei," he said, "Will you be there?"

He would be, but for more than one reason. Not that he would tell him that. "Of course," he said. With the pleasantries out of the way, he got straight to the point, "Has Natsuki been causing problems?" He asked. 

Nagisa smiled, "Not at all," he said. Karasuma frowned a little, but a knot loosened in his chest at his words. A blond headed waiter came and Karasuma ordered himself a coffee. Nagisa waited for the waiter to leave, before speaking again. His smile was gone now, replaced by a serious expression. 

"Karasuma-sensei," he hesitated a moment, and seem to choosing his next words carefully, "The reason I called you here was to talk about Natsuki," he said. Karasuma had guessed as much. 

He paused a moment. "Listen, sensei, before I say anything I just want you to know that I'm asking these questions only because I am her teacher and I want to try and understand my student." 

Karasuma's eyebrows drew together. He did not like where this was going, he had a vague suspicions of what this would be about when Nagisa had called him. "Alright," he said, he couldn't hide the edge of wariness in his tone. 

Nagisa tapped a finger against the table, "Natsuki is... Unpredictable," he said finally, "She's incredibly talented for her age and very determined when she sets her mind on something," Nagisa pressed his lips together, "But she's also violent and doesn't seem to have much care about her own life or anything else as long as she achieves her goal." He picked up his cup, and his blue eyes flicked up to look at him, "Why is that Karasuma-sensei?" He asked, taking a sip of his coffee. 

Karasuma pressed his lips in a thin line. Before he could reply, the waiter arrived, bringing him his coffee. Karasuma was grateful for the distraction; he wasn't quite sure how to respond to Nagisa. 

Karasuma sighed, "I'm not entirely sure," he said. It wasn't a lie, not really. 

"You and Irina have been training her to be an assassin haven't you?" Nagisa asked. 

Karasuma sighed, "In a sense, yes," he admitted. Nagisa frown, "Why?" He asked, "With her talents, she could be anything. Why would she choose such a profession?" 

Karasuma worked his jaw, he hesitated a long moment before saying, "When Natsuki was eight, she was kidnapped by a foreign terrorist group." He saw Nagisa's eyes widened ever so slightly as he continued, "They wanted details on a Mach 23 weapon the ministry was developing at the time and they assumed I would have the information." 

He remembered the day. He couldn't forget it even if he wanted to. The utter terror that had gripped him when he received the phonecall was unlike anything he had ever felt. 

"You didn't have the information," Nagisa said. It wasn't a question. 

Karasuma shook his head, "It was highly confidential, even I didn't have access to that kind of intel." He sighed, "When Irina and I got to the place they were holding her at, Natsuki had somehow gotten her hands on a knife and stabbed one of the men who threatened her," Karasuma grimaced at the thought, "Multiple times in vital places." He remembered being horrified at the state the man was in. 

"Did she kill him?" Nagisa asked, their was a sharp edge in his voice. 

Karasuma shook his head, "No," he said flatly, "Irina did." 

Nagisa blinked once, and chuckled, "I'm not surprised," he said. His smile faded once more, "Growing up must have been hard for her," he said. 

It was. More than he would ever know. 

"Yes," Karasuma said softly. She had been through terrible things a person twice her age wouldn't possibly even dream of. No one should have gone through what she had. And he would never forgive himself for letting it happen. 

"You asked why she chose assassination of all things," he said finally, "Truth is she wasn't given a choice and that was entirely my fault." He sighed, "Now she wouldn't listen to a word I say, and I don't know what to do," Karasuma said, the helplessness he felt when it came to his daughter wasn't anything new. Irina had been right all those years ago, he shouldn't have pushed her so hard. "That's why I'm hoping you could teach her." 

Nagisa smiled a little. He turned his gaze out the window, eyes distant, "I honestly can't promise anything, Karasuma-sensei," he said, "I'm not sure I can, but I'll definitely try." 

Karasuma smiled faintly. It was hard to imagine that the boy he had met seventeen years ago would grow up to be the man he was now. 

"He would have been proud of you, you know," Karasuma said. Nagisa knew he was talking about. He smiled. 

"I sure hope so." 

* * *

Natsuki didn't know how long she ran for. But by the time she was walking back into the school building and breathing hard, dawn had broken, staining the sky in brilliant hues of pink and gold. 

She made her way back to the dorm rooms, walking through the quiet hallways. The school was still reasonably empty. The thought had barely crossed her mind when she saw a figure up ahead walking in her direction. She saw the glint of a polished wooden sword over his shoulder and immediately recognized the dark haired boy. 

Mikado. 

Off to practice his kendo no doubt. She never understood what compelled him to voluntarily be in school five times a week at this ungodly hour. At that moment he looked up, spotted her and his expression turned stony. His pace abruptly quickened and Natsuki stopped walking as he approached, "Mikado-kun-" she started but before she had the chance to say anything else, he grabbed her arm, almost hard enough to hurt, "Come with me," he growled, his voice low. 

"Hey!" 

Mikado ignored her protest and continued walking, dragging her along with him.


	11. Truth Time

Mikado lead her all the way to the stairway leading up to the dorm rooms on second floor. He finally stopped under the stairs and released her arm with a jerk as if her skin burned. 

"Jeez," Natsuki grumbled, rubbing her arm with a scowl, "Way to be subtle Mikado-kun, you really know how to show a girl a time." She smirked, "Though you said you were afraid of Kaito-kun?" 

Mikado leaned against the wall, his expression cold. "You can drop the act, Karasuma," he snapped, his voice impatient, "I saw you fighting Nagisa-sensei." 

Natsuki felt her heart skip a beat. "What are you talking about?" She asked, recovering in a split second, her face a mask of innocence. Mikado snorted, "Stop playing dumb," he said, "Three days ago, during the assassination. You disappeared." 

Natsuki blinked. When did he...? 

"I climbed down from the top floor window," he explained before she could even ask, "You know, I was wondering where I heard the name Karasuma before," Mikado said, pushing himself off the wall and stalking closer, "Then a few days ago when I was reading the news online, I saw the name again in the article about a military strike team going missing," he stopped barely a foot away and leaned down, eyeing her through hooded eyes, "Chief Tadaomi Karasuma of the Military of Defense if I'm not mistaken. I didn't make the connection at first, then I saw you fight and realized Karasuma wasn't exactly a common name," he cocked his head, "A relative of yours perhaps?"

Natsuki could only stare at him. She had really, _really_ underestimated Mikado Takahashi. 

"No one can fight the way you do," His piercing dark eyes seem to stare into her soul, "So who are you?" He asked, his voice low. "No," his eyes flickered, " _What_ are you?" One look into his dark eyes and Natsuki knew there was no lying her way out of it. Her game was up, and if he told their classmates...

Her lips curled into a smirk and she dropped the façade, her expression turning cold, "You're a lot smarter than the others," she said. Mikado drew back a little. It was clear that the sudden change threw him off guard. 

Good. 

"Tell me Mikado-kun," Natsuki purred, leaning closer and watching as Mikado took a wary step back. "So what if I'm not who am I say I am?" She asked. Her heart was pounding but she kept her expression calm and untroubled. "You didn't see anything, and I'm just an ordinary girl." 

Mikado's eyebrows drew together, "What are you even-?" 

She cut him off, "Did you tell the others?" 

He hesitated, teeth clenched. "No," he said. 

"Good," Natsuki smiled, "And I would like it to remain that way," she said with a shrug, "If not who knows what might happen to you." 

Mikado's eyes flashed, and something in them seem to awaken at her words. The dark, deadly thing she saw only once before, during the assassination when he was commanding the whole class against their teacher. 

"Are you threatening me?" He asked, the disbelief apparent in his tone. Unruffled, Natsuki pulled back and crossed her arms, "And if I am?" she asked with a smirk. Mikado stared at her for a long moment before saying, "I might not look like it, but you'll find that I'm not so easy to kill," he said pointedly shifting his grip on his wooden sword. 

Natsuki eyed the training blade. Mikado was different, in more ways than one. He unlike anyone she had ever met before, but that didn't make him any less killable. Yes, it might be a little harder and require a little more effort, but killing him was definitely not impossible. In the face of the people she had gone up against he was nothing. 

"Yes," Natsuki agreed, "You may be a little harder to kill," she smirked, "But I can't say the same for your brother." 

Mikado's expression didn't change but he seem to turn a shade paler. When he spoke his voice was dangerously soft, "Don't you dare..." 

But Natsuki had already turned away, "Won't try anything if you won't," she promised as she walked away. She glanced over her shoulder and smirked, "See you around, Mikado-kun," she said, leaving him glaring after her under the stairway. 

* * * 

"Nagisa-sensei's getting married, so let's plan something for him!" 

Mikado raised his head from the table as Misuki's obnoxiously loud sing-song voice rang through the classroom. It was break time and their Japanese teacher had just walked out of the class. No sooner than she had done so, Misuki had slammed the door shut and leapt onto the teacher's table. 

The entire class groaned in union, Mikado included as he rested his head back on the table. "Misuki-chan, love the initiative and all but our last plan just failed horribly," Sora pointed out. 

"I'm not talking about another assassination plan," Misuki said, "And that plan only failed because our dear Asano-sensei intervened." 

"And Nagisa was fast," Ichiro muttered. 

"And we can't actually shoot," Akira said. 

"And the music room has a lockable door," Renji finished.

Misuki sighed, "Yes when you put it that way, it sounds like a poorly thought out plan, but it wasn't all that bad was it?"

The class stared at her incredulously. "If it weren't for Nagisa-sensei, we could have gotten expelled," Kaito growled from the back. Misuki's eyes gleamed, "Exactly!" She said pointing a finger straight at him, "That's why we've got to make it up to him!" 

Mikado closed his eyes as his classmates continued to argue and let his mind wander elsewhere. To a certain dark haired girl seated in the front of the class and the noise of the class seemed to fade away. 

He had been thinking about what he had seen. Honestly he could think little about anything else the entire weekend after the failed assassination. Now that he had finally confronted her, he didn't know what to make of it. She had avoided his question and instead threatened to murder him and his brother. He couldn't care less about the part about killing him but the threat against Hayato really made his blood boil. 

He wasn't even going to try to figure out how she knew about his brother. And he still couldn't tell if she was kidding about the whole thing. Judging by how she could go toe to toe with Nagisa, he should be worried if she was being serious. 

But strangely he wasn't. 

He didn't know why, but he doubted she would actually kill him. In fact he doubted she had ever killed anyone for real at all. 

"Oi! Mikado!" 

Mikado's eyes flew open at the sound of Renji's voice and he sat bolt upright. Only then did he realize that the entire class had gone silent and was staring at him. Renji was looking back at him with a slight frown. "Are you alright?" He asked, green eyes concerned. Judging by his tone he had been calling him more than once. 

"Never better," Mikado said dryly, "Just fell asleep." He scowled, "What were you saying?" 

Renji looked partially exasperated and partially amused, "I asked, what did you see when you climbed down that day?" He repeated. "I entirely forgot to ask after that whole issue with the principal." 

Mikado hesitated, feeling all sixteen pairs of eyes fixed on him. He glanced over at Natsuki who was watching him closely, her lips curved into a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, almost as if she were daring him to say something about it. He set his jaw and turned to Renji, "I don't know what we heard, but by the time I got down there was no one in there," he said simply. 

There was the sound of disappointment from his classmates and their attention was drawn back to Misuki up front. But Natsuki was still watching him, her smile gone. He stared right back until she finally turned away. 

Mikado couldn't help but grin, feeling awake for the first time in his entire life when he wasn't doing something that could potentially end his life. 

Or perhaps it could. He really didn't care as long as his brother was left out of the equation. 

The thought sounded reckless and suicidal even in his own head, but he figured long ago there had to be something seriously wrong with him. Either way if she was going to play her games. Fine. He could play along for the thrill of it and see where it would go. He glanced at the back of Natsuki's head. 

What was the harm in doing so anyway?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there. Quick question: Do you guys prefer long chapter with less frequent updates or shorter chapters with more frequent updates?


	12. Mission Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shit's about to get real from here on out peeps! :)

Natsuki gripped the hilt of the knife and yanked it out of the wall of her closet with a jerk. She turned and tossed the knife onto her study desk, before grabbing her favorite book off the nightstand and flopping on her bed. 

She leaned back against the headboard and flipped open the french book. It had been a gift from her mother for her thirteenth birthday, when she had just started to pick up the language. She had read it enough times she was fairly certain she could recite the whole thing backwards. 

No matter how many times she read it, it was still the most interesting book she had ever owned and usually she would read the whole thing in one go. But barely a minute in and her mind had already wandered far from the lines on the pages. 

No matter what she did, thoughts of a certain dark eyed boy kept creeping back into her mind. 

She gave up with a growl of frustration, shutting the book with a snap and staring up at the ceiling.   
Thanks to Mikado Takahashi she couldn't even find it in herself to come up with a new plan to assassinate Nagisa, much less focus on anything else. She felt bad for threatening him yesterday. It was a foreign feeling. It wasn't the first time she had threatened to commit manslaughter, but it was certainly the first time she felt bad about it. She wasn't sure if Mikado had called her bluff and if he had, she wondered why was he still playing along.

She could never tell what was going on in his mind. 

He had left after break yesterday to god knows where and hadn't bothered to show up from school today at all until the period after lunch. 

She didn't understand how the teachers were alright with his constant absence, especially with Asano's impossible goal for the F Class. What's stranger was that he still managed to rank second in class after herself despite barely being in school most of the time. Natsuki was beginning to suspect she wasn't only the genius in the Fail Class. 

She wondered what he had done to end up there. 

Her train of thoughts was abruptly cut short by the sound of a knock on her door. "Give me second," Natsuki called leaping to her feet and tossing the book on her nightstand. She grabbed the knife on her desk and shoved it into a drawer, along with a couple of Misuki's fake guns she had been trying to modify after stealing them back from Asano's office the day before. 

She opened the door, thinking it was Hana, only to find Kaito standing there, with his hands in the pockets of his baseball jacket and his flaming orange hair styled despite how late it was. "Kaito-kun," Natsuki said in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

It was already nine Kaito and didn't stay in the school dorms. No need to mention the fact this was the _girl's_ dorm. 

Kaito ran his gaze over her once and Natsuki abruptly remembered she was in her nightgown. His eyes darted back up to her face and he grinned. She quelled the wild urge to punch him in the face. 

"Surprise," Kaito said lamely. "I was worried," he explained, rubbing the back of his neck, "You weren't answering my calls." Natsuki resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She had been avoiding him too for blindly obvious reasons but Kaito couldn't seem to take the hint. "Yeah, I've busy," Natsuki said, crossing her arms. 

"With what?" Kaito asked. 

"Nothing you need to worry yourself about," she assured him and was about to close to door in his face but he held it open with a hand, "Wait, Natsuki-chan." She glanced up at him with a scowl but he said, "Please, I just want to talk," he bit his lip and glanced over his shoulder before turning back to her, "Can I come in?" He asked.

Natsuki hesitated, but he looked desperate enough that she sighed, figuring she might as well break it off sooner than later. She stepped aside and held the door open. Kaito looked relieved, his cocky smirk returning as he stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. 

Natsuki sat down on the chair at her desk and crossed her arms. She watched as Kaito took in the room, hesitating awkwardly before sitting down on her bed directly in front of her. "Nice room," he commented, his gaze wandering across the bookshelves above her desk. 

Natsuki ignored him. "What are you doing here Kaito-kun?" She asked again, a hint of impatience creeping into her voice. 

Kaito grinned, "The others and I are planning to check out that new bar that just opened a few blocks down tonight," he said, "A few other guys from the E Class tagging along... And I was wondering if you'll like to join us?" 

Natsuki frowned at him, "Aren't you underage?" She asked. Kaito smirked, "We have fake IDs," he said, pulling one out of his pocket and showing it to her, grinning as if owning a fake ID automatically made him cooler. It didn't and Natsuki had seen enough fake IDs to know Kaito and his gang would probably get caught with those cheap, poorly made ones. 

Natsuki sighed through her nose. She didn't have time for this. "Listen Kaito-kun, I've got work to do," she said, "And we have class tomorrow." Kaito's eyebrows drew together, "So?" He asked, looking genuinely confused. She shot him a a look, and his frown deepened. "You should go," she said. 

"Come on, it would be fun," he urged, "Plus, I told the others I would bring my girlfriend." 

Natsuki looked at Kaito, feeling exasperated and thoroughly annoyed at this point. She still wasn't his girlfriend but the boy just didn't know when to give up. Before she could say anything to reject his offer again, the door swung open. 

Natsuki looked up and to her shock saw her father standing at the doorway, fully dressed in his formal military garb with a briefcase in his hand. Kaito immediately leapt to his feet, eyes wide. 

Karasuma's eyes widened a little when he saw the boy before narrowing. A vein on his temple ticked, "Who are you?" He asked, his voice was dangerously low, barely controlled, "And what exactly are you doing in my daughter's room at this time of the day?" 

Kaito looked him up and down. Natsuki knew her father had always been an intimidating man, even before he became Cheif of the Ministry of Defense. He was downright frightening when he was angry. 

She saw how his dark eyes noted Kaito's dyed hair, his baseball jacket, and earring. Kaito was sizing him up in the same manner, he took in her father's uniform, the strikes on his cuffs, the badges marking his rank and most importantly the gun strapped to his side. Kaito took a one look at Karasuma's furious glare, and was smart enough to take a wary step back. 

"I... Err... It's good to meet you, sir," Kaito stuttered, uncharacteristically polite. He bowed, "I'm Kaito Reneki. I'm Natsuki's boyfriend. I'm... I'm just here to talk to her." Karasuma looked unconvinced, "Talk huh?" turned his glare to Natsuki, "Another one?" He demanded through gritted teeth, pointedly ignoring Kaito as if he weren't in the very room. 

"Otousan," Natsuki whined in a way she knew irritated him to no end. She stood up and slipped her fingers through Kaito's much to his shock. "What's wrong with this one?" She asked, trailing her free hand up his arm amd smiling at him. Kaito looked as if he were caught somewhere between fear and pleasant surprise. 

Her father's gaze darted between her and the orange haired baseball captain. Karasuma set his jaw. "Get out," he snapped at Kaito, "I need a word with my _daughter_." Kaito didn't need to be told twice. He pulled his hand away, admittedly rather reluctantly, and vanished out the door and closing it behind him meekly. Natsuki heard a crash and a string of curses from outside. 

Spineless coward. 

"He's not my boyfriend," Natsuki said before Karasuma could even say anything, letting the façade slip, the moment Kaito left the room. Karasuma looked at her, the anger in his eyes dulling into mere annoyance. "I know," he said, "I didn't think you'd sink that low." He sighed pulling out a chair from her study desk and sitting down, "You and your mother are going to be the death of me," he muttered. 

He caught the look in her eye. "Her mission went fine," he said answering her silent question, his eyes softening when he saw the worry in them, "It did go a little off track but she got the job done. She should be arriving back in Japan by tomorrow." 

At that Natsuki let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding and something loosened in her chest. "What are you doing here, Otousan?" she asked, watching him with wary eyes. 

"Can't I just be here to check on you?" He asked. "You never do that," Natsuki said dully, "Something is bound to be up. That's the only reason you'd come looking for me." Karasuma flinched at her harsh words. But Nasuki knew it was the sorry truth, and he knew it too. 

Her father was a busy man, and Natsuki knew, his work came first, before everything, even before his family. He always came of as distant, even to Natsuki... especially Natsuki. 

In his line of work, attachments were a disadvantage and a fatal weakness. Natsuki knew this, after all it was the world she planned to be working in one day. But she wouldn't make her father's mistake. She wasn't going to have any weaknesses. 

He hadn't came like he had promised to last week, no doubt caught up in another operation he would refused to tell her about. "Look, Natsuki," he said, dark eyes almost pleading, "I'm trying alright?" Natsuki looked away, "Save it," she said, "I don't care." He looked momentarily hurt, but then his eyes hardened, expression once again unreadable. 

Back to being a professional as always. Never the father, Natsuki though bleakly. 

"You said to wanted a mission," Karasuma said, "I've got one for you." Natsuki sat up a little straighter. Now this was interesting. "What's the job?" She asked, sitting down on her bed. 

Karasuma crossed his arms, "It's a kill mission." Natsuki stared at him in shock. Her father had never let her on a mission. Not a real assassination mission anyway, even though she was more than capable of doing the job, and constantly reminded him so. He never gave in, not even once. 

"Why now?" Natsuki asked quietly. She knew her father, and he would find any means it took to avoid putting her on the field. It would have to be serious if he hadn't found a way around it. "You're currently our only option." Karasuma said grimly, "I'm sure you know about Nagisa's wedding dinner at the end of this week." Natsuki nodded slowly, "The entire class is invited," she said. 

Karasuma nodded, "All the better. Your target is this man," he pulled out a file from his briefcase and handed it to her. "We have reason to believe he is an associate of a man who has been trying to replicate an illegal experiment from seventeen years ago. He along with his partner, are wanted in nearly seven different countries, yet they have managed to stay under the radar." As he was saying this Natsuki flipped open the file. 

The picture attached to the corner of the first page was of a young man, barely an adult and more of a teenager really. He wore a black leather jacket, and had a shock of electric yellow hair and eyes the colour of hammered gold that almost seem to glow. His expression was blank, completely void of any trace of emotion. Ren Okaha, age 19, born in Japan, only son of Daito Okaha and Hikari Okaha, both deceased nearly eighteen years ago. Wanted in seven countries like her father had mentioned, including Japan. 

"Ren Okaha," Karasuma said, "He is a highly dangerous man, the dead bodies of the missing strike team we sent to hunt him down proves it." Even Natsuki felt a chill run down her spine when she flipped the page and saw the horrifically mutated bodies of what was left of the elite strike team. They looked as if they had been hacked to pieces. They were literally torn to shreds. 

"We have intel that Okaha and his partner are planning to make a statement at Nagisa's wedding reception. We do not know why, or how, but all those soliders you just saw died for this little piece of information," Karasuma said, "The mission is simple. You will attend the dinner, and get close and knock him out. A tranquilizer dart or a drug should be enough. The method is entirely up to you. But the moment he becomes a threat to you or the civilians, or if you fail to drug him, you are to eliminate him. Is that clear?" 

Natsuki nodded. Not exactly an assassination mission, but close enough. "Why not just kill him straight away?" Natsuki asked. "The government believes he would be useful when it comes to tracking the others that might possibly be in his organization," her father explained, "But they don't think the information would be worth civilian lives." 

This was really happening. A kill mission. Natsuki looked at Karasuma, "Why me?" she asked. That was what she really wanted to know, "I'm sure you would have had to try your best to keep me off the field." Karasuma nodded, "I did try in fact," he admitted, "But our agents are needed elsewhere, I've called in favors as well, but we're out of options. I even considered asking Nagisa to do it, but..." Karasuma shrugged, "Wouldn't want to ruin his night." 

Natsuki snorted, "Very nice of you, considering I get the vibe this is going to end in a bloodbath." Her father didn't deny it, and that was what frightened her. 

He looked her in the eye, "You're the most suited for this mission. They're going to be on guard for Ministry people, including me, but they wouldn't suspect a student. You'll be working with Irina, she'll deal with Okaha's partner." Natsuki's stared at him in outrage, "Ka-san just got back, and you're sending her on another mission?" Karasuma didn't betray a hint of emotion, "Irina said she can handle it, there is no other undercover agent available. We need someone with a low profile and a face they don't recognize." 

Natsuki continued to stare at him, sometimes she just wanted to punch him for his dense, profession oriented outlook in life, but she highly doubted she would be able to so much as touch him. Natsuki gritted her teeth, "Fine," she snapped. 

Karasuma looked unruffled, "There are three people attending the dinner who will act as your backup, they are all actual guest, and they have been ordered not interfere unless things go sideways." Natsuki said nothing. "And of course, I will be there too." He paused for a moment, "This is important, Natsuki," she heard the sound of chairs scrapping against the floorboard as her father stood up. He gripped shoulder, "We'll all be counting on you," he said squeezing her shoulder. 

"I get it," she said dully, "When can I see Ka-san? We need to coordinate." Also she wanted to see if her mother was alright. "You'll be taking leave from school until the dinner, you're going home tomorrow. Official story is that we're going to visit a distant uncle in Serbia." Natsuki snorted, "Sounds like a flimsy cover story." For one thing, she didn't have an uncle, distant or no. Karasuma only shrugged, as always not getting the sarcasm in her tone. "You're tricking the school, not an underground organization." 

I won't be so sure about that, Natsuki though, thinking about the cold, cruel look in Asano's violet eyes. The principal, she decided, had issues. Not that she was the one to judge. "Fine," she leaned her back against the wall, "Anything else you'd like to mention?" Karasuma shrugged, "No, only that I will kill the next boy that comes into your room." A small smile curled at his lips despite his words. Without realizing it Natsuki found herself mimicking him, "No more boys tonight. I promise." 

Her father smiled, "Good. Then I'll be leaving," he stood up, and nodded at the file, "Do your research, this mission... We know too little. You'll be in the dark... And I get the feeling there is more to it than it seems."   
Natsuki nodded. 

She didn't need to be told twice, this mission was important, and she knew it. "Good luck," he said and opened the door, "I'll see you at the dinner on Sunday." Natsuki looked up, "You not coming home?" 

Karasuma shook his head, "I doubt it," he said, "With everything going on in the office..." his gaze was troubled. Natsuki wondered what he wasn't telling her. He shook his head, "I'll see you," he promised, "Stay out of trouble." He left without another word. Natsuki snorted, "Stay out of trouble," she mocked. Hard to do, considering he had just sent her into a dangerous mission. 

She glanced down at the brown file in her hand, stamped highly classified in red ink with the Ministry of Defense's crest. Ironic that it was in the hands of a junior high girl. He had a point though, it would do her good to find every bit of information there was on her target. Natsuki sighed sitting down on her bed, and reopening the file. She started to read.


	13. Trust Time

Karasuma closed the door behind him with a sigh. He hated this. Hated that they knew so little about this operation. Hated the idiot who started the experiments seventeen years ago. He especially hated the fact that he had been forced to put Natsuki at risk. And Irina as well. She should deserve a long break after her last mission instead of the mess this whole operation was. But what could he do?

He shook his head and started walking down the corridor, ignoring the odd looks the students he passed were giving him from the cracks in their doors, no doubt awake from the racket the orange haired punk made. 

He would have taken on the mission himself, if only he wasn't such a known face thanks to the newspapers. No doubt the targets knew that he would be there, and no doubt they would be on their guard. Natsuki was the logical choice, and he hated it. 

His superiors didn't seem all too concerned about the fact they were sending a teenage girl into the blind mission. Karasuma though they were curious more than anything, to see what the daughter of their greatest asset could do. For the longest time Karasuma had been trying to keep them from finding out. Looks like they finally got what they wanted. 

Karasuma froze. The feeling that hit him out of nowhere was strange. Like catching the glowing eyes of a predator in the night, a monster in the dark, just before it struck the killing blow. Karasuma turned, and saw the student he didn't realize had walked pass him, so close that he had accidentally knocked into him. A boy with ink black hair and dark eyes. Karasuma stared at him. 

How on earth had he not noticed him? 

He looked like any normal student, with his blue Kunugigaoka PE uniform and a book held in his hand, or at least he would have been if it weren't for the katana he held in his other hand. 

He could have killed him. Karasuma realized with a jolt. He had come so close. Had he been so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed at all?

"Gomen'nasai," the student said, bowing, "I wasn't looking where I was going." Karasuma stared at him, "What are you doing with that sword?" He asked. The boy shrugged, "There's going to be a kendo competition next week. I'm going to practice," he said. 

"Now?" 

The boy only rolled his shoulders again, "It helps me think," he said simply. He started to walk away, but Karasuma said, "You do realize the gym is the other way don't you?" The boy turned, "Yes, but I have to return this," he held up the book, "To a classmate." In that split second Karasuma saw Natsuki's name on the book. 

The boy didn't look eager to talk to Natsuki, as Karasuma had come to expect from boys her age. The dark haired boy looked annoyed more than anything, as if he could think of a million other things he rather be doing. He walked away without another word. 

The shadow of dark creature stalking away. 

Karasuma stared after the boy. Karasuma rubbed his eyes, he was working too hard, he decided, maybe he should take a break as one of his coworker suggested. 

But still he couldn't help wondering, who or what was that boy? 

* * *

"You left this in class," Mikado said tossing the book towards the girl sprawled on her bed in her nightgown reading something off a file. Natsuki sat up with a jerk. "Would it kill you to at least knock?" she snapped at him, shutting the file and snatching the book from her bed. 

Mikado raised an eyebrow. Well, she seems agitated today. No, that wasn't it, if he didn't know better he'd thought she was worried. He shifted his grip on his sword, "What are you up to, Natsuki-chan?" he asked with a scowl. 

"Why would you care?" She retorted. Mikado let out a sigh through his nose, "I really don't," he said, lying through his teeth. It actually took him a moment to realize he was lying. "But whatever you're planning. Don't."

Natsuki glared at him, "And you shouldn't be here. My father threatened to kill the next boy in my room." Mikado wasn't sure if she was joking. "Yeah, met him on the way here," he said, "Seems like a nice guy." 

If by nice he meant intimidating, sure, why not? 

Natsuki glanced up at him, "How did you know it was him?" Mikado blinked, "His badge said Karasuma," he said, and frankly the two were quite similar, radiating that unearthly intimidation, and something else, something deadly. 

Natsuki looked surprised that he had noticed. "Why didn't you tell anyone your father was the Chief of the Ministry of Defense anyway?" Mikado asked, "I'm pretty sure it would have increased your fanclub. Or decrease it, if they actually met him." Natsuki glared at him, "What exactly does anything I do, or do not do, have anything to do with you?" 

She had a point there. He was starting to care... He didn't like it. 

What was wrong with him? 

"Get out of my room," Natsuki snapped, "Or unless you're expecting something?" She gave him a coy smile. Mikado was at the door faster than she could blink, "No thanks," he said flatly, "But I'm sure Kaito-kun would be interested." 

Natsuki could only glare daggers at him, but as he opened the door he glanced back. There was something in his dark eyes that wasn't there a second ago, "Be careful, Natsuki-chan," he said, "I have the feeling you're about to do something incredibly dangerous." He left before she could retort, slamming the door behind him. 

* * * 

Karasuma opened the door to his penthouse. He walked in shutting the door behind him, not bothering to turn on the lights with no one home. He set his briefcase down on the dinning table, and walked towards his bedroom, loosening his tie. He paused at the living room. 

Something wasn't right. 

What now? This day was really starting to turn out as an unlucky one. He scanned his dark house, every instinct on edge. He saw movement and a glint of silver out of the corner of his eye. He whirled around, just in time to catch a wrist holding a knife that would have speared his back. 

He heard a snort in the dark, "I'm never going to catch you off guard am I? Though you reaction is getting slower," a familiar voice he had longed to hear said in the dark. Surprised, Karasuma released the hand immediately, "Irina." There was the sound of someone flicking a switch, and lights flickered on. And there stood Irina, still in her travelling clothes. 

She strolled over to him, "You look so surprised," she said sliding up to him, "I almost though you wouldn't care less." Karasuma slid his hands around her waist, his eyes instinctively looking her up and down, inspecting for injuries. He immediately noted the bandage wrapped around her upper arm. "You're hurt," he said. 

"Just a bullet graze," she said dismissively, "One of the grunts got me while I was escaping." Karasuma's lips tugged into a frown. "It's nothing really," Irina said smiling at him. He missed that smile, though he'd never admit it. 

"I thought you were arriving home tomorrow?" Irina smirked, clear blue eyes gleaming with mischief, "Well, I can't tell you everything can I?" Karasuma sighed, "I'll have to admit I am... surprised," he said. Before she had a chance to reply, he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. When he pulled away, he saw her shock before her lips curl into a gentle smile, "You must really have missed me."

"I have," he replied, truthful for once. She had been gone for nearly a year; the last time she had been gone this long was about sixteen ago. She had always been there, he hadn't realized how much he loved having her by his side as irritating as she was, till she wasn't. He had missed her, he really had. He missed her smirks, he missed her pestering, heck he even missed arguing with her over everything. Maybe there was a part of him, that was still very much in love with her, even after all these long years. 

He really should be debriefing her and start typing out that report but... Irina smiled and kissed him again, "You're thinking," she murmured against his lips, "Stop." He hesitated, perhaps he should be her husband for once, instead of her superior officer, just for one night. "Fine." He felt her smile. 

She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, pulling him closer. He wrapped his arms tighter around her and kissed her back gently, lovingly. "Tadaomi," Irina sighed. 

He definitely missed his name on her lips. No one else was there to call him by his first name. On sudden impulse, he picked her up and strolled to the couch, his lips never once leaving hers. He sat down and sighed, running his hands up her back. Simply enjoying the fact that she was there in his arms instead of a stranger's halfway around the world. 

He almost growled his displeasure when she pull away. "I missed you," Irina murmured, smiling down at him, her fingers playing with his hair, "Both of you. How's Natsuki?"

Karasuma heaved a long sigh. "She's... doing fine. I've enrolled her in a new school," he said. Irina frowned a little, he knew she disapproved of all the transferring, but she knew it was for the best. "Where?" She asked. 

"Kunugigaoka." 

Irina's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "That old place?" She smirked, "Feeling nostalgic?" Karasuma gave her a flat look, "I believe it would be good for her. Nagisa-kun is teaching there, he's her homeroom teacher." Irina snorted, "That peep squeak?" Karasuma gave her another look, "He might be able to teach her a thing or two," he said dryly, "About how assassination isn't everything." 

At that Irina's expression darkened, she leaned her head against his chest, "It's our fault you know," she said quietly, "We did this." Karasuma closed his eyes, resting his chin on the crown of her head, "I know." 

Did he regret it? Turning his daughter into a killer? Honestly he wasn't sure. But at least she would be safe. No one would harm her. No one _could_. 

"I hope Nagisa-kun would be able to teach her," Irina murmured. Karasuma scowled, "I hope he gets to before she kills him." Irina sighed, "What made us do this?" Karasuma was quite for a moment, "Desperation," he mumbled and she didn't contradict him. 

* * * 

Karasuma woke up feeling cold, for a moment he wasn't sure what woke him. He rolled over to his side and realized that Irina was gone. He glanced towards the glass sliding doors leading to the balcony and saw that they were cracked open, a cold breeze drifting in and ruffling the curtain. He stood up, pulling on his pants and a T-shirt, before walking out the door. 

He found his wife leaning against the balcony railings, wrapped in a duvet, gazing down at the city light below. Wind ruffled her long blond hair, which appeared almost white in the light from the full moon. Karasuma walked up to her on silent feet, he felt her back muscles tense as he wrapped his arms around her, before relaxing into him. She leaned against his chest and closed her eyes, sighing deeply. 

"What's wrong?" He asked quietly. When she didn't reply he began to worry. He knew her, and she wasn't the one to clamp up, not like this. Karasuma glanced down at her, "Irina." She was silent for a long moment before saying, "It's nothing, Tadaomi," she said, opening her eyes and looking towards the horizon, "Just... thinking... about the mission." 

There was something in her eyes that Karasuma didn't like. He wasn't sure what exactly, but for the first time she looked almost... distant, lost in a place where he could never reach out to nor comprehend. 

"What happened?" He questioned. Irina was silent, "Many things," she said finally, "I don't want to talk about it." Karasuma didn't push it, he knew there were some things, they she could never share with anyone...

Not even him. 

He didn't blame her, there were something he couldn't tell her either, about his work... his past. "After this next operation... I think it's time I retire from field work," Irina said. Karasuma looked down at her in shock, "What? Why?" 

Irina shrugged, "I think it's time to stop," she said softly, "I've had enough of all the lies, the deceit, the killing," she sighed, "And I'm getting a bit too old for my kind of work." Karasuma blinked, "Are you?" Irina rolled her eyes at him, "Shut up," she said slapping his arm, "Don't act as if you aren't, old man." 

Karasuma didn't so much as flinch. But what she said was true. He was getting old, they both were. No longer the assassins they used to be. Irina was still as beautiful as the day he met her, still as skillful and just as cunning. But she wasn't as good at her job as she used to be. Karasuma himself was a man no longer in his prime. His hair was greying along with his abilities. His skills were still frighteningly formidable, yes, but not inhuman like he used to be. If they tired really hard, the stronger, younger agents could beat him. Another five years and it would be a fair fight. One he might lose. Maybe it's time he retire from field work as well. 

Karasuma looked down at Irina for a long moment before saying, "Well, if you believe it's for the best, I'll support you." Irina said nothing. Karasuma wondered for the umpteenth time, what exactly had she gone through in this last mission? What was she not telling him? 

"Tadaomi."

"Hmm?" 

Karasuma saw that Irina's eyes were distant once more, "Do you remember Takeshi?" Karasuma tensed. That was so long ago, nearly sixteen years ago. "How can I possibly forget?" He asked.

Takeshi. His name meant warrior, martial, military, whether he might have ever lived up to it, Karasuma would never know. Takeshi Karasuma, their first child, the son who was never born. It still left him sore thinking about him, like a wound that hadn't really healed even after all these years. It still twisted his heart in ways he hated, whenever he thought of the days that never were, of what could have been. "Why bring this up?" He asked hoarsely. 

"I wonder," Irina murmured, "What it could have been like if things were different..." Karasuma pressed his lips together, "There's no point thinking about it," he said quietly, "What's gone is gone. Nothing can change that." Irina was silent, then, "What about Natsuki?" 

Karasuma blinked, "What about her?" 

"She's fifteen and you're sending her on a kill mission. What do you think that'll do to her?" Karasuma sighed, "Irina..." he started but she cut him off, "You said it yourself, what's gone is gone. There won't be any turning back," she turned to face him, "Do you really want to turn our only daughter into a killer?" 

No. He didn't. He didn't ever want her to be like them. Killers. 

He looked at Irina, expression hard, "No," he said, "But what else can I do?" Irina shook her head, "Send someone else," she said. "There is no one else," Karasuma said. "There has to be someone else," she gripped his fingers, "Tadaomi, please, don't let this happen." Karasuma closed his eyes. 

God, he hated this. 

"What do you want me to do?" He demanded in frustration, "I don't want this any more than you do. But there is nothing I can do." Irina looked away, "Let me handle the mission then," she said, "Alone." Karasuma shook his head, "Not a chance," he said, "You can't take on both of them. And you know it." Irina glared at him, "I've handled worse," she said, "I can do it." 

"Not this time," Karasuma said, "We don't know anything about those two. But you saw what they did to the strike team. That was two dozen men," his eyes flickered, "And I think... there's something about this whole mess, something we're missing." Irina scowled, "What are you talking about?" 

"Don't you think there's something familiar about this case?" 

Irina's eyes narrowed, "Now that you mentioned it..." she trailed off. Karasuma shook his head, "Nevermind," he said, "Perhaps I'm just over thinking it." 

Only he never did. 

"Don't kid yourself," Irina said, "You're planning to let our daughter do this?" Karasuma sighed, "She won't be doing the killing," he said, "If worse comes to worse. I'll do it myself," he looked down at her, "Alright?" 

Irina hesitated, before relaxing with a sigh, probably realizing thus was the best she could get out of him. "Fine," she said, "Just don't let her be the one who pulls the trigger." Karasuma nodded, "I won't let that happen," he said quietly. 

He'd try. He would try his goddamn best. But there were so many variables in this mission, so many things that can go wrong. Too many things. 

"Come on," Irina said taking his hand and leading him back indoors, "I can think about a dozen different things I'd rather be doing tonight, rather than standing out here, thinking about work." Karasuma rolled his eyes, but he let her lead him back inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's some Karasuma/Irina fluff and angst before the storm.


	14. Family Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay maybe a little more fluff first.

"Ka-san!" 

Natsuki dropped her bag and barrelled straight into Irina. If it had been anyone else, she was certain she would have knocked them right over. She heard her mother laugh, wrapping her arms around her in a bone crushing embrace, "Natsuki." 

"I missed you so much," Natsuki said, her eyes burning as she hugged her mother tightly, never wanting to let go. "Me too," Irina murmured into her hair. Natsuki grinned and to saw her father standing beside the dinning table, dressed in a grey suit and watching them with a faint smile on his lips. 

"Well, I'll be going now," he said, shoving a stack of papers into his briefcase and walking over to them. Irina released her, "So soon?" She asked. Karasuma sighed, "I have quite a few meetings to get to," he said, his tone making it clear he was not looking forward to them. He grabbed his keys and peked his wife on the cheek, "I'll see you both at the dinner," he said, dropping a hand on Natsuki's shoulder and squeezing it lightly. He withdrew his hand and walked out the door. 

"Bye," Irina said as the door closed behind him. Natsuki snorted, picking up her bag, "It's always work with him," she muttered under her breath. Irina sighed, "You know your father is a busy man," she said strolling over to the kitchen, "You can't blame him for it," she called over her shoulder. Natsuki rolled her eyes. 

She can and she would. 

"I'm going take a shower," she announced, slinging her bag over her shoulder and stalking to her room. "Lunch in a minute!" Her mother shouted after her. 

"Oh!" 

Natsuki walked into her room and tossed her bag on a chair, falling backwards onto the soft sheets of her bed, twice as big as her bed in the dorms. She sighed, breathing in the familiar scent of jasmines with a contented sigh. 

God, she missed home. 

Sunlight filtered through the glass sliding door leading out to the balcony as Natsuki stared at the white ceiling. She still couldn't understand why she father had insisted she stayed in the school dorms. She got up, running a finger lightly along the worn spines of the rows of books on her bookshelf as she headed to the bathroom, gabbing a towel along the way. 

By the time she got out, the familiar smell of her mother's cooking had drifted into the room. Natsuki towel dried her hair, hesitating a moment before walking over to her desk and pulling out the brown file from her bag. She flipped open the cover and Ren Okaha's emotionless gold eyes stared up at her. She ran a finger across the picture, tracing the man's jaw. 

There was just something off about the photo of the blond headed man. She had spent the night before staring at the picture, trying to figure what was wrong with it, but a day later and she still couldn't pin point what it was exactly. She couldn't describe it. It was as if there were something missing in those golden eyes, something important. 

"Natsuki!" 

"Coming!" She called. Natsuki closed the folder with a sigh and walked out her room, taking the file with her.

"What's that?" Irina asked eyeing the file in her hand with a slight frown as Natsuki strolled into the living room. "Work," she said holding up the file so that her mother could see the crimson crest on the cover. Irina shook her head, "Put that away," she said, "We'll worry about that after lunch." 

Natsuki grinned, tossing the file on the coffee table and pulling out a chair as Irina placed two plates of food on the table. "And after you tell me everything about Iraq," Natsuki said, sitting down. Her mother smiled, "Deal." 

* * * 

They spent the entire afternoon catching up. Her mother told her all about her mission. She had been tracking down the ministry's rouge agent, who had somehow ended up in one of the largest Middle Eastern underworld syndicate. Upon the ministry's orders she had infiltrated the organization and spent half a year gaining their trust and providing the Japanese government with the information she had obtained. But she had been found out the a week ago, and had barely managed to escape from their sniper. 

Her mother had abruptly gone quite at that part of the story. As if she were remembering an unpleasant memory. 

Natsuki didn't like it. She changed the subject then, telling her about the new school, her classmates and her homeroom teacher. Her mother looked genuinely surprised when she told her how the F Class assassination on Nagisa had went. "Ha, that midget's got a lot better," she said, but there was a hint of pride in her voice. They talked for hours. 

When evening came around, they spent their time trying to organize the little information they had for the next op. The longer they spent doing so, the more Natsuki realized how little information they had to work with. 

Ren Okaha's partner was named Yasunori Hirayama, aged 32, born in Japan, living relatives unknown, profession unknown. Neither of them had any kind of criminal record before the strike team massacre, until month ago the ministry couldn't even prove that they existed much less prove they were guilty of anything. 

They were ghosts. They had exactly zero ties. No social media accounts, no work history or schools record or living family members, not even a registered identity unless you counted the ones the ministry's data analytics had dragged up with an incredible amount of difficult. 

Yasunori Hirayama had been suspected of replicating an illegal experiment that had been conducted seventeen years ago. Whatever the hell that experiment was, the government refused to let them know. Even her father was left in the dark. Natsuki though it was incredibly stupid of them, she couldn't even begin to comprehend the ministry's motives of keeping that particular bit of information under the wraps. 

The ministry always had their own personal agendas. Natsuki had learned that long ago. 

Though they didn't say it, Natsuki had a feeling that her parents knew more than they let on. Judging by the conversation with her father yesterday and how her mother was acting when they went through the information now, they seemed to have an idea of what they might be dealing with. But it was as if they couldn't believe it themselves, or rather chose not to believe it. 

They ministry had ordered Hirayama to be killed, but Okaha on the other hand...

"Do you have any idea how you want to go about this?" Her mother asked, walking out from the kitchen and tossing aside an apron, abruptly snapping her out of her thoughts. Natsuki glanced down at the picture of Okaha, and frowned a little, "I think spiking his drink would be the easiest," she said, "Especially at a party." 

"And the drug?" 

Natsuki tapped her pen on the file, "Maybe Rohypnol?" She suggested. 

Her mother frowned a little, "That could work," she said, "But I think you'll need something stronger." 

Before Natsuki could reply, the doorbell sounded. Natsuki froze, her hand instinctively reaching for a knife that wasn't there. She exchanged a glance with her mother. Her father wasn't coming home tonight, who else could it be? 

* * *

Mikado stood outside the door leading to the apartment. He rang the doorbell again and crossed his arms, glaring at the peephole. 

There was a pause, then the sound of the door being unlocked. The door swung open and Natsuki stood there, dressed in a T-shirt with her dark hair tied up in a bun, looking as annoyed to see him as he was to see her. "You again," she said crossing her ams and leaning on the doorway. 

Mikado scowled down at the irritatedly, "Trust me it was either me or Kaito-kun." The baseball captain had been more than ready to run Nagisa's errand, but their teacher had sent Mikado instead. 

He handed her the papaer bag he had been carrying, "Homework," he said, "Nagisa-sensei's taken over most of the classes to prepare us for the mid-terms," he explain, "He said he wasn't going to let you off just because you're going on a holiday tomorrow." 

Natsuki frowned down at the stack of work, "Why did they send you of all people?" She muttered more to herself than to him. Mikado rolled his eyes, "I'm right here," he reminded her, "And if you must know, I live a few blocks down from here." 

"Natsuki, who's there?" A female voice called from inside. 

Natsuki turned, but before she could reply Mikado heard the sound of footsteps approaching. The door opened a little wider and a blonde foreign lady who looked strikingly similar to Natsuki appeared behind her. If Natsuki was the most beautiful girl Mikado had ever seen, the lady was certainly the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. It was clear where Natsuki had gotten her looks from.

"Oh, hello there," the woman, who Mikado assumed was Natsuki's mother, said. She swept her bright turquoise eyes up and down Mikado, "Is this your boyfriend?" She inquired, glancing at Natsuki with a familiar smirk. 

Natsuki huffed out a breath, "No," she said, "He's just my classmate." The woman glanced at Mikado, those piercing eyes identical to Natsuki's narrowed ever so slightly, "Really?" She smiled. It reminded him of a cat cornering a mouse. 

Mikado decided there and then that Natsuki's entire family was unnerving. Having met both her parents, it explained a lot about her. Nevertheless he introduced himself, "I'm Mikado Takahashi," he said, keeping his expression neutral and polite, "I just came over to hand Natsuki her homework," he bowed, "I'll be taking my leave now." 

"Well since you're here, why not joing us for dinner?" Natsuki's mother said, "Turning to walk back into the house, I made extra anyway." 

" _Ka-san!_ " Natsuki exclaimed outrage. 

"Uh... Thanks for the invite, but I rather not intrude," Mikado said. And he didn't want to leave Hayato alone with his parents who were both at home at the same time for the first time in weeks. He grimaced at the very thought.

"Nonsense," the blonde woman said, "Natsuki show him in." 

* * * 

A few moments later, Mikado found himself seated at the dinning table with the two girls, wondering how exactly he had ended up in this situation. He picked at the pasta on his plate, his gaze wandering across the living room. 

Natsuki's house was huge. The penthouse itself was on the twenty-fifth floor. There was a huge balcony leading from the livingroom which offered a spectacular view of Tokyo's busy night life. The first thing that had struck him the second he stepped into the house was how modern and western-looking the place was. The whole place was greyscale themed. Everything there from the sofa to the wallpaper were either black, grey or white, with the occasional wooden or glass furniture throwing into the mix. 

Compared to his own apartment it was also a good deal neater, but it felt oddly cold and empty, almost like a hotel. As if its occupants hardly spent any time there at all. 

The only sign that they were people staying there were the few pictures on the walls, as well as the mess of papers spread out on the coffee table. 

"Takahashi-kun?" 

Mikado snapped out of his thoughts and saw Natsuki's mother (whose name he eventually found out was Irina) was looking at him inquiringly. Natsuki on the other hand was picking at her food, and seemed pretty determined to look at anything other that him. 

"It's Mikado," he corrected automatically, glancing back at Irina, "Sorry," he said, "What were you saying?" 

Irina smiled, "I asked, what are you interested in, Mikado-kun?" 

Mikado blinked, caught off guard by the sudden question. "Uh..." He glanced at Natsuki, who simply shrugged in return. "I like kendo," he said which was the first thing that came into his mind. "It's pretty much the only thing he's interested in," Natsuki added, spearing a shell of pasta with her fork. 

Mikado scowled at her, "I like other things," he said, a defensive edge in his tone. Natsuki finally looked at him. "Oh really?" She raised eyebrow, "Like what?" Mikado opened his mouth but then she said, "Climbing buildings, freerunning and other illegal activities don't count." Mikado shut his mouth. Natsuki smirked at him and he shot her a glare. 

"Hmm..." Irina flicked her gaze from Mikado to her daughter. She said something in English that made Natsuki glance up, her expression incredulous. Natsuki said something and her mother grinned replying once again in the same foreign tongue. Mikado could barely understand a word they were saying. He caught the words 'good' and 'him' and a quiet a few 'no' from Natsuki, and that was about as much he could keep up with. 

Natsuki seemed to get the hint that he understood some of it, and abruptly switched over to another language. One Mikado would even begin to try to comprehend. It could be anything from Greek to Chinese of all he knew. 

Thankfully they eventually switched back to Japanese. "As if," Natsuki said and turned back to her food without another word. Her mother chucked, "Sorry about that, Mikado-kun," she said glancing at him. Mikado shook his head, dismissing her apologies, "How many languages do you speak?" He asked glancing at Natsuki. 

"I lost count," she said flatly, and went back to ignoring him. 

"I think about fifteen, isn't that right Natsuki?" Irina asked. Natsuki shrugged and continue eating. "Fifteen?" Even Mikado felt impressed, "That's incredible," he said truthfully. Was it his imagination, or did a faint pink stain her cheeks? 

"I'm terrible at languages," he said. "Really?" Irina grinned, "But from what I've heard from Natsuki you're something like a genius." 

Mikado found himself talking throughout the dinner. Irina was easy to talk to, and Natsuki was a lot easier to deal with when her mother was around. Surprisingly the meal wasn't as awkward as he imagined it to be. 

In fact, he enjoyed it, though he would never admit it aloud. 

* * *

Natsuki leaned against the balcony rails, watching the flow of the traffic far below. At this height they almost seemed like streams of light, curving and twisting through the trees and towering skyscrapers. The moon was full tonight, casting a dim glow, just bright enough to illuminate her surroundings. 

She knew it was him before she heard the door slide open. Sure enough Mikado appeared at her side a moment later, leaning his elbows against the balcony rails. Natsuki glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. He wore a long sleeve dark blue shirt and black trousers. It was the first time she was him in anything other than his uniform. 

His dark hair was unkept and appeared almost bluish in the pale moonlight. His chin was tilted upwards towards the sky, as he gazed up at the moon and the stars. Always looking upwards and away, as if he were searching for something he couldn't ever find. 

Natsuki wondered what it was. 

But then, he looked down at her with those cold eyes. And there was something there... something she hadn't noticed before. The faintest trace of warmth. 

Her mother was right, he was handsome. 

"You seem pretty close to your mother," he said finally, breaking the ice. 

Natsuki shrugged, "I haven't seen her in almost a year," she said. Mikado's eyebrows drew together, "Why?" He asked. Natsuki sighed, "Work," she said. Mikado glanced up to the sky, "Well, your family still seems close," he said. She caught the slightest hint of envy in his voice. 

Natsuki huffed out a breath, "You haven't spent time with my dad yet," she said, "He's impossible to deal with." Mikado was quiet for a moment. then he shrugged, "I wouldn't know," he said dully, "My relationship with my parents is basically nonexistent." 

Well that explained why he prefered the use of his first name. Natsuki didn't know what to say to that. But before she could formulate a response he abruptly changed the subject, "Are you going to Nagisa-sensei's wedding dinner?" He asked. 

She felt her insides twist at the very thought of it. "Yeah," she mumbled, "We'll be back the day before," she lied. 

Mikado was silent for a moment. At that moment a cloud hid the moon and shadows crept across the balcony. "What do I have a feeling something's not right here?" Mikado asked softly. He glanced over at her, and sighed, "Who are you?" He asked, "Really, who are you, Natsuki-chan?" 

Natsuki glanced up at him. The shadow passed, and the moonlight illuminated his face once more. "I could ask the same about you Mikado-kun," she said, "Who are you?"

Mikado was quiet for a long moment, "I honestly don't know," he said, so softly Natsuki almost didn't hear him. There was another short silence then he pushed himself off the rails, "Well, I should go," he said, "My kid brother you threatened to murder is waiting for me." 

God, he knew exactly how to make her feel bad. 

But then she was the glint of amusement in his dark eyes and knew immediately he had called her bluff. He turned but then she blurt out, "I'm sorry." Mikado glanced back and raised an eyebrow. "About all that. I didn't really mean it, I just didn't want you to tell the others." 

Why was she telling him this? 

Mikado's lips curved into a faint smile, "I know," he said simply, "I'll see you at the dinner, Natsuki-chan." 

She watched him leave. Grabbing his bag and thanking her mother on the way out. She shook her head, but she couldn't help but grin. She realized two things then.

One, she really didn't like lying to him. 

Two, she was really starting to like Mikado Takahashi.

She couldn't decide if it were a good thing or a bad thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right. So I did promise more frequent updates, but life's annoying and it gets in the way of everything. So yeah... updates are probably gonna be slower.


	15. Wedding Time (Part I)

The day of the wedding reception arrived before she knew. Natsuki stood outside the glass doors of the hotel, uneasiness curling at in the pit of her stomach.

Why was she so worried?

"Are you ready?" 

Natsuki glanced over her shoulder and saw her mother standing behind her. She wore her blonde hair down, and a long, fitting crimson off shoulder dress, with sleeves long enough to hide the bandages on her upper arm. She looked stunning as always, but Natsuki saw the assassin lurking behind that beauty. Looks were as much as a weapon as a gun. Her mother had taught her that long ago.

Natsuki hid her uneasiness with a smirk, "Always," she said. The hidden pistol strapped to her leg felt unnaturally heavy. She saw a flicker of worry in her mother's eyes. 

"We've been through the plan a thousand times. I'll be fine," Natsuki said with false confidence, "Trust me." And if the plan goes south, they had backup plans behind backup plans. If those failed too, she would figure it out. Hopefully. 

Irina's lips curled into a small smile, "I trust you," she said. 

"Natsuki-chan!" 

Natsuki glanced in the direction of the familiar voice and saw Hana and Akira walking over to them, dressed in a grey and yellow dress respectively. Irina squeezed her shoulder, "Keep your comlink on. Good luck," she murmured, "I'll see you inside." Natsuki nodded and she left, leaving Natsuki with her classmates.

"Was that foreign lady your mother?" Hana asked cheerfully as they approach. Natsuki smiled, though it was the last thing she felt like doing, "Yeah," she said. "Thought so," Akira said, "So that's where you got the looks from." Natsuki grinned, "Let's go in," she said. 

They walked through the automatic sliding glass doors and Akira continuing talking. "Look at you," she said, glancing her up and down, "Planning to steal the attention of all the boys tonight?" She asked, amusement dancing in her hazel green eyes. 

Natsuki laughed, "No!" She said, "Why would I?"

She had opted to wear a simple, light blue, knee length dress that matched the colour of her eyes. She wore black flats, a simple silver necklace and like her mother, she had chosen to wear her hair down. 

"Yeah why would she?" Hana asked grinned deviously, "Natsuki-chan only has eyes for Mikado-kun~" she said in a sing-song voice worthy enough to rival Misuki's. 

The nervousness in her laugh wasn't entirely forced, "Mikado-kun?" She echoed, "Now why would you think that?" 

Hana and Akira exchanged a glance and rolled their eyes in union, "It's obvious by the way you look at him," Hana said. "And I've never seen Mikado-kun that interested in someone before," Akira added. Natsuki frowned a little, "But he doesn't look all that interested," she said. His enigmatic dark eyes flashing across her mind, "More like he's... curious." 

"Exactly!" Akira exclaimed, as they walked into the elevator, "I've known him since middle school," she said, punching the button to the top floor, "And he's never been interested in anything, except danger maybe," she smirked as the elevator doors closed, "The fact that he's even the slightest bit curious about a girl is definitely a first." 

Danger?

Was that why he kept her secret? 

Noticing that she had abruptly gone quiet, the two other girls changed the subject. "Oh yeah, how was your trip to Serbia?" Hana asked. They talked the entire walk to the grand hall, about her nonexistent trip to Serbia, her equally nonexistent uncle and silly, nonsensical things. 

They were a lot of fun to be around, but Natsuki knew it will never last. If this plan went wrong, and she was forced to kill her target, she wondered how her new friends would look at her then. She had the dire feeling, that everything was going to end tonight, one way or another. She would genuinely miss them if, no, _when_ she left for another school, like all her other friends she had left behind.

The grand hall was, well, grand. Unsurprisingly there was white everywhere. The decorations were simple, yet beautiful. White cloth hung from the ceilings close to the, while white lilacs sat in the centre of each of the round tables and decorated the rasied dais in the centre front of the hall. 

They had arrived half an hour early yet the hall was already filled with guest and the soft murmurs of chatter. Natsuki scanned the room and immediately spotted her mother, her pale blonde hair standing out amongst the crowd. She was rather hard to miss, considering the fact that she was shouting at two men, one with a shock of orange dyed hair Natsuki guessed was one of her former students, and the other she recognized as Okajima, the rather perverted but surprisingly talented freelance photographer she sometimes saw hanging around her father's office. 

Her father on the other hand was a little harder to find. She eventually spotted him, sitting at one of the tables close to the stage, dressed once again in his formal military uniform and talking quietly with a young man with hair pale as moonlight. 

Itona Horibe. 

One of the three guest who would supposedly act as her backup if things went wrong but would otherwise remain uninvolved. 

"Literally everyone's here," Hana murmured under her breath abruptly reminding her that her two classmates were still there, "Even Principal Asano is here," she muttered. Sure enough, their cruel-eyed principal was sitting at the table most their teachers were at, casually sipping a glass of sparkling liquid and watching the crowd silently. 

"Why on earth did Nagisa-sensei invite him?" Akira muttered. "Well, he _is_ his boss," Natsuki pointed out, and continued to scan through the people present. 

Ren Okaha and his partner were no where in sight. 

But she spotted someone else instead. A tall, handsome man with flaming red hair combed back neatly from his forehead, who was dressed in a dark suit, polished shoes and a red tie. 

Karma Akabane. 

The most notorious politician in Japan, and the mastermind behind the country's economical bureaucracy, who also happened to be another one of her backups. The man was currently entertaining his equally red headed son seated on his shoulders while simultaneously chatting cheerfully with a young blond woman in a dark blue dress.

At that moment the red haired man laughed and glanced her way. Amber eyes met blue ones and his laugh abruptly died down. He set the boy down, excused himself, and starting walking purposefully in her direction. Suddenly everything felt very, very real. Natsuki felt her heart rate pick up. 

"... Natsuki-chan, we should go join the others," Akira was saying but Natsuki barely heard her. "You guys go ahead," she said, keeping a casual smile on her lips and her voice even, "There's some family friends I have to go talk to," she said. 

Akira and Hana exchanged a look and shrugged. "Alright," Akira said, "We'll save you a seat." The two left, walking the the direction of the two tables assigned to Class 3-F, and talking the entire way. 

"So, you're Natsuki Karasuma."

Natsuki heard a voice drawl. Her false smile faded as she glanced away from the retreating backs of her friends. Karma Akabane was standing beside her, his hands in his pockets. The red haired man glanced down at her and grinned a fanged smile, "Can't believe they kept you a secret from us," he said. "You look so much like bi... Err.. I mean, Irina-sensei it's kinda creepy," he said, snatching a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. 

Natsuki was quiet, unsure of what to say. She kept her expression unreadable. The silence stretched on till it began to feel uncomfortable. Karma took a sip from his glass, "They aren't here," he said, his amber eyes flicking towards the mass of people in the hall, "Not yet anyway," his voice was quiet enough so that only she could hear. "What I'm curious to know, is why the ministry sent a middle school girl on such an op." 

Natsuki glanced up at him with a flat look, "Why did the ministry sent a class of middle school kids to kill a monster?" She retored. Karma grinned, "So they did tell you about us," he shrugged without looking at her, "You've got me there," he admitted, keeping his eyes fixed on the crowd, "I told Karasuma-sensei I could do it myself, but he wouldn't listen." He sighed, "Good luck, Natsuki-chan," he murmured, and walked away, disappearing into the crowd, "You're going to need it."

* * * 

Mikado was sitting alone in a chair, watching the people around him. He was bored as hell, which was strange considering he was at one of the most unusual wedding dinners he had ever been to. 

Nagisa had a rather impressive guest list. How on earth he managed afford it all was a complete mystery. On top of family members, friends, nearly half the members of the school faculty and all his Year 3 students, it seems like nearly everyone who was anyone in Japan was also invited. There was an interesting, and rather random, mix of well known people present, everyone from sport celebrities to the owner of Tokyo's famous ramen franchise. 

Mikado saw Kaito and every member of the school's baseball team present getting autographs from the pro baseball star, Tomohito Sugino. The former Olympic gymnast Okano Hinata was here too and was currently surrounded by a legion of girls. Mikado also spotted the newly appointed minister of foreign affairs, Rio Nakamura, talking to the red haired politician who was Japan's economical puppet master. Even the secretary of the Ministry of Education was present. 

Politicians and sport celebrities weren't the only ones invited. The two famed biomedical scientist, Manami Okuda and Kotaro Takebayashi were present, and so was the CEO of the largest architecture firm in Japan, Ryunosuke Chiba. Heck, Mikado could have sworn he spotted his favorite horror author, Kirara Hazama somewhere here too. 

"Look who we have here, it's Takahashi-kun," a voice Mikado had come to despise said, rudely snapping him back to reality. 

Unfortunately for him Class-3F wasn't the only class Nagisa taught. 

Mikado flicked his eyes up to his former classmates, "Yamada-kun," he glanced at the other boy, "Daiki-kun." The two A Class boys were sneering down at him, but Mikado kept his expression calm, bored even, even though a tiny, less rational part of him wanted to punch them in the face. 

"You seem to be enjoying yourself in the Fail Class," Daisuki said, a mocking smile on his lips. Mikado glanced up at him and cocked his head, "And what if I am?" He asked. 

"Well, then you're more of an idiot than we thought you were. Either that or you're insane," Yamada said shoving his glasses up his nose while Daisuki snickered. 

Mikado's lips curled into a cold smile, "Maybe you're right," he said softly, his voice dangerously low, "Perhaps I am just an a little insane." 

Whatever they saw on his face and in his eyes made them back up a little. "Tch," Daisuki shoved his hands into his pockets, "You better watch yourself Takahashi-kun, don't think for a minute that the rest of Class 3-A have forgotten what you've done." He glanced at Yamada, "Come on." Mikado watched them leave. Something in his chest twisted at their words.

"What did they want?" 

Mikado glanced to the side and saw Renji glaring daggers after the two boys, as he collapsed into the seat beside him, two cups of orange juice in hand. "It's nothing," Mikado said. Renji offered him a drink, but Mikado shook his head waving the cup away. Renji shrugged and downed both in one go.

"Being chased around by a bunch of people is tiring," he explained when Mikado gave him an odd look. He didn't bother to elaborate further and Mikado didn't ask.

"There are so many people here," Renji commented, taking out his phone and scrolling through it, "It feels more like a famous person convention than a wedding dinner." 

Mikado grimaced, "Tell me about it," he muttered. "Hey, did Nagisa-sensei tell you guys who his fiancé was?" He had been skipping class like he always did, but from what Mikado knew, Nagisa had been pretty determined to keep that particular bit of information a secret. 

Renji shrugged, "Nope," he said, without looking up from the device, "He won't budge. He did say she was his junior high classmate though." 

"That just so cute isn't it?" Akira said, appearing out of nowhere and sitting down on Renji's other side. Renji visibly tensed, looking ready to bolt at any moment, but still didn't look up from his phone. 

"Akira-chan," Mikado greeted, then something occurred to him, "Where's Natsuki-chan?" For some reason, Akira's lips curled into a devilish smile, "Worried about her are you?" She asked. 

Mikado frowned. That was literally the last thing on his mind. He still didn't know her all that well, but he knew Natsuki could take care of herself, that much was obvious. "No," Mikado said truthfully, "I'm just curious." 

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say, because Akira's smirk widened. Nevertheless she pointed over to the entrance of the hall, "She's over there," she said. Mikado's gaze followed her finger and sure enough he saw Natsuki talking to Karma Akabane. 

"Hey guys, guess who else got married today," Renji said. 

Mikado tore his gaze away from Natsuki and glanced at him. "Who?" Akira asked before he could. 

"Haruna Mase," he said holding up his phone. A picture of the dark haired actress was displayed on the screen, "It's all over the news."

"Who...?" 

Akira didn't have time to finish the sentence. The next second, the host, a man with a shock of longish orange hair, appeared on the raised dais and welcomed the guest. 

Everyone found their way to their seats and the lights dimmed. Hana, Yuki, Sora, Misuki, Farlan and Natsuki joined them at the table while the rest of their classmates took up the table beside theirs. Natsuki sat down directly opposite Mikado, their eyes met briefly and she nodded before looking away, blue eyes scanning the room, as if she were searching for something. 

Somewhere soft music began to play. The heavy double door leading into the hall opened and fog poured forth. 

"Guys, you're not going to believe this!" Renji exclaimed, loud enough that he earned a few glares from the people around them. Renji either didn't notice or didn't care. His green eyes were wide, fixed on his phone. "Nagisa-sensei is Ha-" 

Whatever he said was lost amist the sound of applause, as a spotlight shone towards the doors. And there stood Nagisa, smiling in a black and white kimono. And right beside their teacher, mirroring his smile with an arm laced through his was Haruna Mase.


	16. Wedding Time (Part II)

Being Nagisa's student was one surprise after the other. At this point, they should have gotten used to it by now. Yet somehow their teacher had managed to surprise them once again. 

Mikado plugged his ears as his classmates exploded into shouts of _"What?"_ And _"Haruna Mase?"_ And Kaito's _"You've got to be kidding me!"_

People around them shot them looks of annoyance, looking thoroughly irritated, but Mikado doubted that any of the others noticed. Nagisa himself didn't seem to mind the commotion. He simply waved in their direction, grinning cheerfully. 

Dinner commenced after a few words from the host and the newly weds. Everything from roasted duck to sweet fruitcake was served. He wished he could have brought Hayato with him. Mikado had never seen that much food in his life, by the fifth course he was already full. 

"Nagisa-sensei is the best!" Misuki exclaimed, pinching at multiple dishes with her chopsticks and wolfing down food at a frightening speed. "Jeez, slow down," Sora muttered, taking a sip of his tea and watching Misuki with a slight grimace. 

"Natsuki-chan, are you alright?" Hana asked, "Why aren't you eating?" Mikado watched, chewing slowly as Natsuki glanced at Hana with a casual smile, "Oh, it's nothing," she said, "I'm just not that hungry." 

She seemed distracted more than anything. Mikado had been watching her, and she had been on edge since she sat down. He wondered what was on her mind. 

* * * 

"Wait, wait, wait, let me get this straight," Sugino pointed his chopsticks at him, "Your students planned to assassinate you, got caught, and now Asano's threatening to fire you if they don't make it into the in top ten in every subject, and you didn't tell them anything about it?" 

Nagisa grinned sheepishly, "Yeah that's about right," he said. 

"Jeez, that little Asano brat hasn't changed at all," Irina said, taking a sip of wine. 

"Want me to threaten him?" Karma asked with a smile that swore trouble. Nagisa could almost imagine the devil horns sprouting from his head. "I kicked him out of the bureaucracy, but looks like he hasn't learned his lesson." 

"Karma!" Okuda exclaimed from beside him, "You said you weren't going to mess your coworkers anymore," she said. "Sorry, dear," Karma grinned, not looking the slightest bit apologetic, "But Asano's an exception." 

"Err, it's alright," Nagisa said, "Really. I'm sure my students will do fine." 

"You really trust them don't you?" Kaeda said from beside him. Nagisa grinned, "Yeah." 

"But enough to put your job on the line?" Nakamura sighed, spearing a prawn and frowning at it, "You're really something else aren't you, Nagisa-kun?" 

"Are you sure you don't want me to do anything?" Karma asked, "What kind of best man would I be if I don't stand up for you? I even brought some extra hot wasabi especially for him." He said holding up a tube of the green paste. 

"No! No, it's really alright!" Nagisa said quickly. "Why on earth would you even bring that?" Sugino muttered, "What if Asahi-kun got hold of it?" He turned in his chair, "Where is he anyway?" 

Nagisa abruptly realized the red haired boy was gone. Karma looked unconcerned at his son's absence, "He probabaly went off to play with the other kids." 

"I don't think so," Nakamura said, "All the other kids are still eating." 

"He can handle himself," Karma said with a shrug. "He's also four," Okuda pointed out, and stood up with a sigh, "Excuse me, I'll go look for him." 

Okuda left and Nakamura turned to Nagisa, "So how many kids you two planning to have?" She asked resting her chin on her palms with a smirk. Nagisa felt heat rushing into his face, "I don't think..." 

"Or do you like secretly already have one and never told any of us about it like a certain two people we know?" Karma asked with a perfectly innocent expression. Karasuma choked on his drink. 

"Yeah about that," Kaeda spoke up, glancing at their former teachers, "Why didn't you tell us about Natsuki-chan?" 

"We... Had our reasons," Karasuma said after a short pause. One look at his expression and Nagisa knew his former classmates weren't going to get anything else out of him. 

"Come on sensei," Karma drawled, "What kind of answer is that?" He asked looking mockingly disappointed. Karasuma just gave him one of his trademark scowls and went back to eating in silence. 

Karma sighed, "You're such a downer," he said, raising his glass to him, "But I'll give you the right to be just for tonight," he said downing the entire thing in one go. Nagisa frowned, and saw the others looking equally confused. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nakamura asked. 

Karma's amber eyes flickered, "Who knows?" he said and abruptly changed the subject. "But what about you Ms.Minister of Foreign Affairs?" He asked with a fiendish grin, "Where's your Mr. Minister?"

Nakamura snorted, "Dan's in London," she said, "And it's none of your concern." 

Karma's grin widened, "Oh? Who's Dan?" He asked, "You know you're probably the only one who isn't married yet." Nakamura snorted, "I've been busy and what about the baseball star over there?" She said, pointing at Sugino who froze, chopsticks half rasied and looking as if he were caught in a crossfire. 

"Still have a thing for Kanzaki?"

Sugino turned as red as the lobster on the table, "That was ages ago and she has a boyfriend," he mumbled, "We're just friends." 

"Jealous?" Karma smirked turning in his seat to shout at the next table, "Hey Kanzaki-chan! Sugino-" 

Before he could say anything else, Sugino had tackled him right out of his chair. 

"Oi! Watch it!" Irina shouted as they both tumbled onto the ground, yelling at each other and receiving a few odd looks. 

"You guys," Kaeda shook her head with a sigh. Nakamura chuckled, "Boys don't grow up do they?" Nagisa exchanged a glance with Sugino. A corner of his lips twitched upwards and they both ended up laughing. 

* * *

Dinner ended and Karma found himself standing alone by the desert bar, a glass of wine in his hands, watching with a smirk Maehara charm the crowd onstage with ridiculous stories of Nagisa and Kaeda. 

Karma's gaze wandered over to his two friends in front. They were laughing, they looked rathwr embarrassed but happy. He was really glad for them. So far everything was going as it should. He checked his watch and scanned the room once more. 

It was 10:00 p.m. and the two idiots he was expecting still haven't shown their faces. 

He spotted a familiar man with dark hair that fell into his eyes, dressed in a black suit, standing alone in a corner of the room. Karma made his way over to him, grabbing another glass of wine from a waiter along the way. 

"Chiba-kun," he greeted, "Or should I call you Chiba-sama, Mr. CEO?" He asked offering him a glass. Chiba's lips curled into a small smile and he accepted the glass with a nod of thanks, "It's been a while Karma-kun," he said. They were quiet for a moment as the crowd brust into a round of applause at something Maehara said. 

"They aren't here," Karma said softly. Chiba clenched his jaw, "We aren't supposed to be talking about it," he said, like Karma he was scanning the people in the room. 

"Very well, where's Rinka-chan and the twins?" He asked. 

"Rinka catching up with Yada-chan. The kids are at home," Chiba said, "I'm surprised you brought Asahi-kun, knowing how dangerous this dinner actually is." 

"My son knows how to stay out from trouble," Karma said. "So I've heard," Chiba said, "Heard from Okuda-chan he's so smart it's freaking out his teachers." 

Karma chuckled, "Yeah." There was a long pause, "If they actually show up, are you really not going to intervene at all unless things go wrong?" He asked. 

Chiba frowned a little, "That's what we've been ordered to do isn't it not?" 

Karma was quiet for a moment. "Don't think for a second I don't understand the danger," he murmured, "People could get hurt tonight and there are a lot of kids around," he said eyeing Isogai and Megu's three kids as they ran past them laughing and playing tag. 

"And they're sending a junior high kid to take care of it," Karma said lowly, "I honestly didn't think Karasuma-sensei would do such a thing, and sending his own daughter of all people." 

Chiba shrugged, "We weren't much older when we killed Koro-sensei," he said, "She's trained and if she's anything like her parents, I trust Natsuki-chan. Itona-kun feels the same." 

"This is different," Karma mumbled, "I trust her too, but this isn't a matter of trust," he swirled his wine, "This isn't anything like with Koro-sensei." 

"We don't actually what we're dealing with here. For all we know it could be nothing," Chiba lifted his glass to his lips, "We'll just have to see won't we?" Karma glanced down at the dark red liquid in his glass and scowled, "I guess so."


	17. Assassination Time

Natsuki hung around the edges of the room, watching the people around her. The rest of the guest were either dancing or simply mingling around, laughing and joking. Koharu and her gang were arguing with their former bandmates at the music station while most of her other classmates were on the dance floor, looking as if they were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Natsuki wished she could say the same for her. 

It was 10:30 p.m. and her target still hadn't shown up.

With every second that ticked by, she grew more and more anxious. "Where are you?" She murmured under her breath, gazing across the room for what felt like the hundredth time that night. Then there was a buzz or static in her earpiece. 

"Natsuki." 

She heard her mother's voice in her ear. 

"Look. Your nine o’clock." 

Natsuki's eyes darted towards the said direction. Sure enough, she spotted two men standing the the corner. The first was a man with greying dark hair, and the second was Ren Okaha. 

Natsuki reached up her hand and touched her comm masking her movement my tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, "I see them," she murmured, "How on earth did they get in here?" 

There was only one entrance into the hall, and she had been monitoring the door the entire time. No matter how good there were, they couldn't have possibly sneaked in without her knowing. 

"I don't know, " her mother replied calmly, "Just proceed as planned." 

Natsuki gritted her teeth, "Understood." 

She hung back, watching as the two men talked quietly. Okaha nodded, and the two men went separate ways. The young man stopped to get himself a drink and Natsuki smiled, making her way towards him. 

"Hi," she said when she reached him. 

Okaha was dressed in a sharp light grey suit. He looked exactly like he did in his pictures. His spiky hair was dyed an insane shade of yellow, his strange eyes were hammered gold and his expression was void of emotion. But then to her surprise he broke into a small smile when he noticed her, "Hello," he said. 

"I haven't seen you around," she said, tucking a strain of hair behind her ear and feigning a nervous smile, "Groom's or bride's?" She asked. 

"Both," Okaha said without the slightest hesitation, "They're old... family friends." He grinned, and Natsuki saw sharp canines peaking from his otherwise straight white teeth. "What about you?" He asked. 

"They're friends with my parents," she said. 

"Really?" Okaha's smile remained, but his gold eyes darkened. Those strange eyes seem to see right through her. She didn't know why, but suddenly he seemed so much more frightening, "What a coincidence." 

Natsuki hid her nervousness with a laugh, "What's your name?" She asked. "Okaha," he said offering her a hand, "Ren Okaha." She grasped his long fingers and shook his hand. 

Why were his hands so cold? 

"I'm Suki," she said trying to withdraw her hand, but Okaha held fast, "That's a nice name," he said, his golden eyes gleaming like a feline's. She had the irrational suspicion that he could read minds. He still didn't let go of her hand.

Fine. She could work with this. 

She yanked her hand out of his grasp, harder than it was necessary, purposely knocking the glass of wine in his other hand. The dark liquid spilled, staining his light grey jacket crimson. "I'm so sorry!" Natsuki exclaimed feigning a look of absolute horror. 

Something flashed across Okaha's eyes, something angry and violent, but it was gone in the next second. "Don't be," he said, glancing down at the stains on his jacket, looking mildly annoyed, "It was an accident." 

"I'm really sorry," Natsuki said, schooling her expression into one of distraught, "I'll go get you another drink. Don't move," she said with a small smile. Okaha smiled, "I wouldn't," he promised. There was something in his voice that sent spiders crawling down her spine. 

Natsuki found a napkin and grabbed a drink from a waiter. In one smooth motion she withdrew the the vial containing the drug from her sleeve and tipped the colourless liquid into the dark wine. Okaha was waiting exactly where she had left him, silently watching the couples dancing to the slow music in the center of the hall. He noticed her and grinned. 

"Here," she said offering him the napkin. "Thank you," he said, and cleaned up the best he could. "So sorry about the suit," she said, "Must have cost you." 

Something that looked like amusement danced in Okaha's eyes, as if he were laughing at his own private joke, "In fact it did not cost anything at all," he said, accepting the glass of wine she held out to him, "So it's alright." 

He raised the glass to his lips and froze, the lip of the glass inches from his mouth. A second passed, then another. "Is something wrong?" Natsuki asked. Okaha stared her right in the eye and his lips curled into a wicked smile. "Not at all," he said and downed the entire drink in one go. 

What was he...

"Tell me Suki-chan," Okaha said, running a finger lightly along the lip of the empty glass, "What exactly are you after?" 

Natsuki's heart sank. "What?" She managed to ask, forcing a look of confusion on her face. 

Okaha smiled, "I'm asking," he said, reaching out and grasping her wrist, hard enough to hurt and leaning down. He was close enough that she could see the odd rings of amber in his eyes, "What game are you playing?" Before Natsuki had the chance to think of a reply another voice said from behind her, "I think you should leave her alone." 

Natsuki glanced over her shoulder and saw Mikado standing there, his hands in his pockets. He was wearing a dark grey jacket over a white collar shirt, once again his tie was missing, and his usually messy dark hair was combed back from his forehead. 

"I've been looking for you," he said, a lopsided grin on his lip. It was so unlike him, Natsuki could only stare. "You still owe me a dance," he said, his gaze wandered over towards Okaha. His expression darkened and his usual scowl reappeared, "Is he bothering you?" He asked.

Natsuki stared at him, "No," she said, finding her voice at last, "We were just talking." Okaha's grip on her hand tightened, then abruptly loosened. "Who are you?" He asked but he released her hand. 

Mikado shot him a dark glare, "I'm her boyfriend," he said, grabbing her hand and glancing down at her with a smile that was too kind for him, "Let's go," he said, leading her towards the dancefloor before she could protest. 

* * * 

Karma stood besides Nagisa, watching as the guest and their former classmates danced the night away. "You both really outdone yourselves," he commented, "It's really a nice wedding." 

Nagisa grinned sheepishly, "You should be telling that to Kaeda," he said, "She and Nakamura did most of the planning." 

Karma chuckled, "Maybe I will," he said, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot," he pulled a flat rectangular black box from his pocket and tossed it over to Nagisa. He caught it and frowned, turning it in his hand curiously, "What's this?" He asked. 

"A wedding present," he said, lifting his glass to his lips with a grin. 

"But I thought you already..." 

"It's a special gift from all of us," Karma said, "Trust me you'll like this one." 

His best friend frowned, looking wary as he opened the cover of of the box. Karma watched as his curiosity turned into understanding. A smile split across his face, as he pulled out the green rubber knife from the box. "Karma..." his voice wavered. 

"It's not a replica," Karma said, "It's the very one you used." Just looking at it sent a wave of nostalgia through him. 

Nagisa turned the knife in his hand and let out a laugh, "I don't know what to say," he said, "How did you guys get your hands on it?" He asked. Karma winked, "Being an influential political has its benefits," he said, "So does having a former teacher who's high up in the Ministry of Defense." 

Nagisa chuckled, flipping the old rubber knife, "Thank you," he said. Karma smiled, "It was the others' idea," he said. 

"Look what we have here," an all to familiar voice drawled, "Misusing your power for personal gain, Akabane?" 

Karma smiled, and glanced behind him, "As if you wouldn't do the same, Asano," he grinned, "It has been a while. How's the whole principal thing working out for you?" He asked with a mocking grin. 

The last time Karma saw him was nearly a year ago after he forced him out of the party. By the looks of it his old rival hadn't changed at all. "Hhm," Asano snorted, "Enjoy yourself while you can, I'm not staying in the school for long. I'll be back in no time and you'll be begging for forgiveness." 

Karma smirked, "Oh, really?" He stepped closed and cocked his head, "From what I remember I won the last time." 

Asano didn't so much as flinch, instead he smirked, "And from what I remember, you lied your way to the top," his cruel eyes gleamed, "Be careful, you never know when you'll trip up Akabane." 

"Uh... Karma, maybe you two shouldn't be doing this here," Nagisa said weakly. 

"Nagisa's right," Karma said, not looking away from Asano, "It's his wedding. So let's play some other time shall we?" He smirked, "I'll be looking forward to your return. I have to admit the office has gotten so boring without you around." 

Asano mirrored his smiled coldly, "Just you wait," he said raising his glass. The glasses let out a chime as Karma clinked his glass against his, "Oh I will," he said. 

"I will never understand your friendship," Nagisa muttered under his breath. 

"We're not friends," Karma and Asano said in union, glancing at the blue haired man. Karma heard Nagisa sigh, he glanced back at Asano and abruptly froze, his smile vanishing. 

"Akabane?" 

Karma barely heard Asano, he was staring over the man's shoulder, at the young man with yellow hair standing a few lengths away. "Excuse me for a moment," he said, his eyes fixed on the man he had been looking for all night. 

They were here at last. 

He handed Asano his glass without another word and made his way to the opposite side of the room. "What's up with him?" He heard Asano ask. "I have no idea," he heard Nagisa reply just before he was out of earshot. 

Karma approached the man and hung back a few lengths away, pretending to be preoccupied with his phone. Okaha was talking to Natsuki, while his partner was being entertained by Irina a few meters away. He spotted Itona and Chiba close by, watching them as he was. 

For a while everything seemed to be going as planned. Then he saw Okaha grab Natsuki's arm. Karma took a step forward but someone else beat him there. A boy with dark hair and dark eyes. Her classmate perhaps? 

The boy lead her away, and Karma stepped back, letting loose a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. Natsuki was safely away, but he didn't like the look on Okaha's face. He couldn't shake the feeling something was going to go very, very wrong. 

* * *

What the hell are you doing?" Natsuki snapped the second they were out of earshot. He was going to ruin everything. Mikado's smile melted away and was replace by a harsh expression, "The real question is what the hell are you doing?" He snarled when they were safely hidden amongst the other dancers. He glanced quickly in the direction of Okaha and growled, "Dance with me." 

"You sure can charm a girl," Natsuki hissed, but slid her arms around his neck. Mikado's hands were around her waist and he asked, "Why are you after him?" Natsuki was scowled, "Was it that obvious?" She would have to be worried if it was. 

"No," Mikado growled, "But I was watching you and I have an extremely good nose for bloodlust," he said sarcastically. 

Natsuki clicked her tongue, "I can handle myself," she said. 

"Yeah obviously, but that guy's dangerous," Mikado said lowly. 

"How would you know?" Natsuki asked as they swayed to the music. 

"Call it instinct," Mikado said, "You're not the only one craving blood," he said, "That guy's radiating death like a fresh carcass." 

Natsuki's eyebrows drew together at his words. She hadn't sense anything like Mikado described. She stole a glance Okaha and saw him watching her with a wolfish smile. 

The drug should have kicked in by now. There was enough of it in that wine to knock out an elephant, yet Okaha looked perfectly fine and so very much awake. 

"Natsuki-chan?" 

Natsuki glanced up at Mikado and saw him watching her. There was genuine concern in his dark eyes, "Just... Tell me what's going on," he said, "I can help you." 

He had no idea what he was saying. Natsuki's insides twisted at his words. "I'm sorry," she said unlooping her arms form around his neck and pushing him away, "But you can't." 

She didn't look at him and walked away, back towards Okaha. 

"Natsuki-chan!"

She didn't look back, reaching up to touch her earpiece, "Ka-san." 

There was a short silence. She didn't expect her mother to answer but to her surprise she heard a response, "What's the matter?" 

"The drug isn't working, I don't know why. I'm proceeding with plan 13." 

There was another short pause, "Proceed." 

Natsuki stepped off the dancefloor. Okaha hadn't moved an inch from where he was before. He turned his gaze to her and smiled, "Back so soon?" He asked.

Natsuki shot him a cheerful smile, "Sorry about all that," she said, "And sorry about this." Before he could so much as blink she withdrew a syringe containing her backup drug. But faster than it was possible Okaha caught her hand before the needle made its mark inches from his throat.

"I knew it," he smiled widely, "It's a real pity, I kind of liked you, little assassin." 

Natsuki gritted her teeth and shoved against the hand, but Okaha's grip tightened till she heard her bones crack. It took all the will not to cry out in pain. Okaha lips curled and his smile morphed into something cruel and completely deranged. 

"You are all liars." 

"Natsuki!" 

The last thing she heard was Mikado's yelling her name before everything went to hell.


	18. Assassination Time (Part II)

The world around her exploded in a flash of movement. Before she knew Natsuki was happening, she was being knocked sideways. She found herself on her back, Mikado staring down at her, his face inches from hers. 

"Mikado-kun...?" 

"Are you alright?" Mikado asked. She nodded stiffly and he clenched his jaw. He pushed himself off the ground, and gripped her hand, pulling her up with him. 

"Wow," they heard a maniacal laugh, "You're a lot faster than all the others." 

Natsuki's eyes widened. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. "What the hell..." she heard Mikado murmur from beside her. 

Okaha stood a few lengths away, a mass strange yellow tentacles, at least eight of them, lashing out from his hair, faster than Natsuki's eyes could see. She could only watch as Okaha steppped forward, those tentacles decimating everything around him. Her mind conjured up an image of the the horribly mutilated stirke team. 

And the screaming began. 

"Natsuki, we have to go!" Mikado yelled over the sound of people scrambling away from Okaha. Natsuki yanked her hand out of his hand withdrew her gun, firing straight at Okaha without a second of hesitation. 

But the man batted the bullet away, swatting it aside with a tentacle as if it were nothing more than a pesky fly. The bullet ricocheted off the ground and Okaha caught it. His smile would haunt her nightmares. 

"Bullets don't work on me," he grinned. 

"Tch," Natsuki drew her knife, "Fine," she growled, "We'll do this the hard way." She flipped the knife and lunged forward before Mikado could grab her again. 

"You have a death wish little assassin," Okaha said. Those tentacle flew straight at her, but Natsuki moved, dodging them, one after another. She had been watching, and though they were fast, with that many, they were moving in a fixed pattern to avoid getting tangled. And they weren't fast enough to catch her. 

Okaha's smile slipped, and his eyes widened ever so slightly when she made it close enough to strike. She stabbed him straight in the chest. His tentacle faltered, and Natsuki almost though she had succeeded, but then Okaha grinned. Only then did she realize he had blocked her strike with a tentacle. His cold fingers closed around her forearm, just as she felt the knife in her hand heating up, "You'll have to do better than that," he whispered, and the next second she was flying backwards. 

She crashed to the ground and felt the wind knocked right out of her lungs. Natsuki gasped, scrambling to her feet even as every muscle in her back protested. The knife in her hand was nothing more than a mess of melted metal. She tossed it aside with a growl. 

What was this guy? 

Okaha stalked towards her, his tentacle lashing out around him like some mutated octopus. There was murderous intent and something completely unhinged in those horrifying gold eyes. But then someone stepped in front of her. 

Mikado. 

"What the hell do you want?" He snarled, standing between her and the monster.

Okaha paused, "You again," he growled, "God, I hate people like you." 

"What do you want?" Mikado repeated, "Why are you doing this?" 

Okaha tilted his head, as if he were genuinely thinking about it. Then he smiled, "Because I can!" he yelled and launched himself forward. 

"Mikado!" Natsuki screamed. 

But then there was the sound of gunfire and a couple a trail of blood appeared on Okaha's chwek. Okaha looked momentarily stunned, then he leapt back, his hand flying to the graze on his face. 

"Get out of the way!" 

Natsuki glanced to the side and saw Ryunosuke Chiba standing a few lengths away, a gun smoking in his hand. 

She heard the sound of laughter behind her, and saw Karma strolling forward, "I can't believe you actually brought a gun," he said, a pair of wicked hunting knives glinting in his hands, "But I'm not exactly the one to talk am I?" 

Chiba was silent, his gaze fixed on Okaha, his gun still raised. 

"Are you both alright?" Another voice asked. Natsuki glanced over her shoulder, and saw Itona stand-in behind her. Natsuki nodded and saw Mikado doing the same. 

"The others are evacuating the other guests," Itona said, "They'll be back in no time." 

"Where's Hirayama?" Chiba asked. Itona shook his head, "He isn't here, bitch-sensei is missing too." Natsuki felt her heart plunge. 

Karma's lips curled into a fiendish smile, "Very well, we'll take it from here," he glanced at Natsuki and Mikado with a wild grin, "You guys can stay and help, or leave if you want to." 

Karma cracked his neck, and rolled his shoulders, "Natsuki-chan, try to contact Irina-sensei," he turned his smile to Okaha, "And try to keep up." He lunged forward, blades glinting, Itona at his side, completely unarmed. 

Sounds of gunfire and yells of effort filled the hall once more. Natsuki glanced at Mikado. A silent agreement passed between them. She withdrew another blade and tossed it over to him, "I want that back," she said. He scowled down at it, "No promises," he said, "Don't I get a gun?" He asked. Natsuki snorted, "You're a terrible shot. You might just end up hitting one of us." 

Mikado snorted, but he said, "Fair enough," he glanced at her and his lips curled into a smile, "Let's go," he said and they ran to join the fight. 

* * * 

Okaha was fast. He wasn't nearly as fast as Korosensei had been, but his speed was on an inhuman level. Judging by how Itona could still keep track on him with just his kinetic vision, no other part of him could move at Mach speed except his tentacles. 

But still he was ridiculously fast and with that many tentacles he had no problem fighting against multiple opponents.

Karma could barely keep up, it took all his concentration to prevent himself from being turned into a human kebab. A tentacle rushed towards him aimed straight for his head, and he swung his knife without even thinking twice. 

His blade was immediately reduced to molten metal on contact and Karma hissed, dropping the red hot remains of the knife. 

He was really starting to wish he had waiting until the after party to give Nagisa his wedding present. Karma didn't understand how it worked. Like Korosensei, regular weapons like his blade and Chiba's bullets didn't work against Okaha's tentacles. But Chiba had somehow managed to catch him by surprise and graze his cheek. And Karma saw that the wound wasn't healing. 

So his tentacles were the only thing inhuman about him huh? 

"Ignore the tentacles," Karma called, withdrawing another knife, "Focus on hitting his body." 

He wasn't sure if the others had heard him over the sound of gunfire, but he was sure they would come to the same conclusion eventually. He lunged forward, but getting close to Okaha proved to be a lot harder than he imagined. Okaha was learning, his movement were getting more and more random and increasingly radical. Even Itona couldn't seem to get close enough to land a hit. 

The dark haired kid, Mikado, seemed to be able to handle himself well enough. He was surprisingly quick on his feet and good with a knife, but he was clearly no match for Okaha and hung around the edges of the fight. 

Natsuki and Chiba were doing a good job distracting him with their hail of bullets, but it wasn't enough. They needed him to trip up.

Karma smirked, "Hey, Okaha-kun!" He shouted, "Where the hell did you get those tentacles huh?" He yelled, rushing in and stabbing him straight in the face. The tentacle that batted away his blade was inches from taking his hand with it. 

Karma retreated, but his cocky smile didn't falter, "Think you can actually kill us? You look like a ridiculous octopus," he drawled, drawing his last blade, and leaping back into the fight. 

"Shut up!" Okaha roared, his tentacles lashing out even faster, destroying everything within a five meter radius. Insane was the right word to describe the look on his face. 

"Karma!" Itona yelled, barely dodging another tentacle, "Not helping!" 

Karma ignored him. "Hey, why the hell are you doing this huh?" He yelled, barely dodging a pair of tentacles that would have stabbed him in the torso if he had been just a split second slower. "Can't you just let a shorty enjoy his wedding? What are trying to gain from this?" 

Okaha was laughing, there was nothing sane in that sound. "Apparently you all have something Hirayama-sensei wants!" He yelled, "I'm just here to test out these tentacles out on the bastards who killed my father!" 

"Your father? Who-" 

"Karma look out!" Chiba yelled. Karma moved, but too late. He blinked, and the next second he felt pain spiking up his leg. He glanced down and noticed that a tentacle had come so close it had ripped a hole through his pants. There was a wicked gash on his calf, leaving a trail of blood down down his leg. Apparently his tentacle were a good deal sharper than Korosensei's had been.

Shit. 

"That actually hurt," he growled, "Now you're definitely going to get it." He leapt forward, he was vaguely aware that his leg was hurting, but adrenaline kept him going. Okaha sent two pairs of tentacles his way, but Karma dodged, he feigned a stab towarda his face, only to flip his knife and change directions at the last second. 

"Chiba! Natsuki! Now!" 

His blade sunk into the man's shoulder and a split second later there was the sound of guns going off. Okaha screamed, as his knife and the bullets met their mark. 

Karma was thrown back and he landed hard on his back, his head slamming against the tiled floor. He groaned, rolling over to his side. His side hurt and his head was pounding. He gripped his throbbing side and managed to sit up even though spots danced across his eyes. 

"Itona!" 

Karma's eyes flew towards his former classmate and saw the silver haired man lying unconscious on his side. His eyes were closed and there was a bloody gash on his forehead just above his eye. 

"Damn it!" Karma growled, struggling to his feet even though his muscles screamed and the pain in his leg seemed to worsen. "Mikado! Natsuki! Take care of him!" He yelled, but both the dark haired kid and Natsuki were already by his friend's side. Karma turned his gaze towards Okaha. 

At least the man looked about as bad as he felt. The man was stumbling backwards. By the looks of it either Natsuki and Chiba had managed to hit him in the leg while the other had grazed his throat. Okaha's tentacles limp, and the fingers of his unhurt arm was pressed hard against his wounded shoulder. Karma felt the slightest trace of satisfaction when he saw that his entire hand was stained dark crimson. 

Karma smirked, though darkness was starting to creep into the edges of his vision. "Had enough?" He called, raising his blood stained knife, "There's more where that came from." Honestly he wasn't sure if he could even dodge another attack from Okaha, but his expression remained a mask of confidence. 

Okaha limped forward, he stared at Karma for a long moment then he smiled, "Nice try," he said. His tentacles lashed out once, and shot straight towards him. 

Karma raised his blade too slow. But before either of them could react, the yellow tentacles exploded. Okaha's golden eyes widened. 

"Sorry we're late guys." 

Karma glaced in the direction of the voice and saw Nagisa standing there, the anti-sensei knife gripped tightly in his hand, dripping with yellow slime. Karma smiled, "Nagisa." 

"Who the hell..." Okaha's tentacles regenerated and he turned to see their classmates closing in, armed with makeshift weapons. 

Karma grinned, "Our backup's here." he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notice: I might not be able to update at all this week. Well just have to see. (ーー;)


	19. Assassination Time (Part III)

"Asahi-kun, I don't think this is a good idea." 

Fumio Isogai glanced at Asahi up ahead as they crawled through the dark and dusty ventilation pipes. "Where's your sense of adventure, Fumio-kun?" The red haired boy asked, pausing to look back at him with a wild grin. Even in the dim light, Fumio saw that there was a spark in his dark lavender eyes he only saw when his friend was out to prank someone. "Don't you want to see what's going on?" 

Fumio shifted nervously, blowing a dust bunny from his shoulder. "I don't know," he said, "The adults told us to wait outside," he glanced behind him, "And I think Onesan is probably looking for me." 

Asahi rolled his eyes, "Come on, Fumio-kun," he whinned, "It will be fun! Besides," his eyes glinted, "Tou-san told me your parents used to be the class reps in his class. So shouldn't you be leading the way?" 

Fumio shrank a little at that, "I'm not like my parents," he mumbled. Asahi sighed, "Go back if you want to then," he said, "I want to see what's happening." He continued crawling through the vent without another glance back. 

Fumio chewed his lip, he glanced back into the eerie darkness behind him. A creak in the walls made him jump. "Wait for me, Asahi-kun!" He called and hurried after his friend. 

Fumio wasn't sure where they were going, but Asahi sure did. Soon they heard the sound of shouts and gunfire. The noise grew steadily louder as they continued to crawl forward. 

"Asahi-kun..." Fumio murmured, the tremor in his voice betraying his fear. He didn't like this, he didn't like any of this. He should have just did as he was told and stayed with his sisters. 

"We're almost there," Asahi said, his voice was trembling too, but Fumio knew it was from excitement, not fear. Asahi was never afraid. In school he was always the first to climb up the tallest tree and he was the first to floor a bully. He gave their teachers a headache but Fumio secretly admired him for it. Asahi was brave in a way he couldn't ever be. 

The vent grew brighter all of a sudden and Asahi scrambled forward. "Look!" He exclaimed in a hushed voice. Fumio crawled forward, a little more cautious than Asahi and stopped where the other boy did. 

Asahi was peering through a ventilation hole, his face pressed against the barred vent, a devil's grin on his lips. "Wow! Fumio-kun, you have to see this!" 

Fumio peered down into the vent and his eyes widened. "What... Is that?" He asked. 

Down below, the adults and two teenagers were fighting a monster. The creature looked like a human, but what looked like tentacles sprouted from his equally hair, lashing about so fast they were nothing but a blur of yellow. 

Asahi made a face, "I don't know," he said, "Kinda looks like an octopus or maybe a spider." Asahi pointed, "Look! Your parents are over there." 

Fumio searched his parents, and found them in the thick of the fight. His father was holding a gun, and firing it straight at the monster. Fumio though it was so cool. "Where are your parents?" He asked. Asahi was quiet for a moment, eyes searching the people down below, "I think..." He abruptly went silent. Fumio glanced at him and saw that his face seem to go pale, "Tou-san?" Asahi's voice was small. 

Fumio glanced down. He found Asahi's mother tending to an unconscious silver haired man, but his father was a little harder to find. He eventually spotted the red haired man who looked like an older version of Asahi, lying eagle spread on his back a few lengths away from where the fight was going on. 

Even from the distance, Fumio saw that his leg was bleeding, and he was covered in scrapes. But then the man abruptly sat up bolt upright, and started yelling something at the others before leaning back against his hands and watching them with a lazy grin. 

"He's fine," Fumio said and he heard Asahi let out a sigh of relief. 

"What do you think that is?" Fumio asked again. Asahi knew what he was talking about with elaboration. "A monster?" He suggested, "I don't know, but look at Nagisa-san!" 

The said man was darting about, slicing the tentacles off the monster with a blade. He seemed to be the only one who could hurt him. "That's so cool!" There was awe in Asahi's voice, "But I'm sure Tou-san can do better!" 

They watched as the fight went on. The adults had encircled the monster, trapping it from all sides. But none of them could get close with those trashing tentacles. Nagisa kept cutting off tentacles, but no sooner had he done so they regenerated almost immediately. The monster screamed and Fumio felt chilled down his spine. Yet at the same time he noticed something. 

"He's getting slower," Fumio murmured. Judging by the monster's wild movement he was getting more and more desperate. 

"What?" Asahi frowned. 

"The more tentacles Nagisa-san cuts off, the slower he becomes." 

Asahi observed the fight below for a moment and nodded solemnly, "Yeah, you're right," he decided with a grin, "That means they'll win!" He said. "Yeah!" Fumio said loudly. 

Too loudly. 

Fumio's voice echoed through the vents. The monster whipped its head in their direction and the boys froze. The monster's face split into an insane wide smile. He mouthed something that Fumio barely made out. 

Found you.

Fumio had just enough time to exchange a glance with Asahi before the vent sprung open. He felt something wrap against his abdomen, yanking him backward and he was falling. He didn't even have time to scream. 

"Fumio-kun!" 

Time seemed to slow down. Fumio saw Asahi's hand stretching out towards him, his mouth opened in mid-scream. And for the first time since he met him, Fumio saw fear in those wide purple eyes. 

* * * 

This wasn't how Natsuki imagined her night would go. Everything went wrong, but she had expected as much. She still couldn't contact her mother, but everything else seemed to be going alright after Nagisa showed up with his former classmates. Okaha was getting slower, and Natsuki saw the fatigue in his movements. 

They had him cornered. They would have gotten him at any moment. Then Okaha just had to go and pull a kid from the vents. 

The situation would have been almost comical if it weren't so deadly serious. The brown haired kid couldn't be older than four. He had gone very pale, and light green eyes were wide with fear. Okaha had the kid gripped tightly in a pair of tentacles, a third tentacle was held inches from the boy's throat. Now that he had finally stopped moving, Natsuki saw that each tentacle ended in a jagged edge that looked more than capable of ripping through flesh. 

_"Fumio?"_ A dark haired man, Isogai if Natsuki remembered correctly exclaimed im surprise. There was a look of utter horror on the man's face. His horrified look was reflected on the face of the woman beside him, "Fumio!" 

"Ka-san..." the kid whimpered. 

"Don't get any closer," Okaha snarled, his lips twisting into a cruel grin, "Or the kid gets its." 

Natsuki aimed her gun at his head, but she knew no matter how fast her bullet may fly, Okaha's tentacles were faster. "Let the kid go," One of the men with an actual gun growled. Natsuki recognized him as the secretary of the minister of education, Terasaka. Like herself his gun was aimed at Okaha. 

Okaha chuckled lowly, "Not a chance pal," he said, "Get rid of that knife," he snarled at Nagisa. Nagisa hesitated, Natsuki could almost see the wheels turning in her teacher's mind. Then surprisingly he did as he was told, tossing the knife aside. 

Okaha smirked, "Now lower your guns." 

None of them did so. The kid, Fumio, was crying now, tears streaked down his face, but he was silent as if he were too frightened even to make a sound. 

"I said lower your guns!" Okaha roared, his tentacle inching closer to the kid. 

Natsuki exchanged a glance with Chiba who stood a few lengths away. The sharpshooter gritted his teeth but reluctantly lowered his gun. The others eventually followed the suit, Natsuki the last to do so. 

Okaha smiled, "Good," he said. "Now le-" 

He was abruptly caught off my a flash of movement, "Let him go!" A voice yelled. Natsuki saw a blur of dark red hair and Okaha was on the floor. 

"Asahi-kun?" 

Natsuki didn't know who said it, but the kid had appeared from nowhere, falling straight down on Okaha's head, and grabbing fistful of his hair. Natsuki could only stare at him stunned. Okaha looked just as surprised, "What the...?" His tentacles moved to attack but then Karma was there, grabbing hold of a few of his tentacles. 

"A little help?" He shouted. 

The others snapped out of their shock and rushed forward. Without missing a beat Mikado ran forward, slamming a foot into Okaha's jaw and snatching the brown haired kid from his grasp, while the others pinned Okaha's tentacles down. 

Natsuki wasn't sure how exactly, but somehow they managed to hold Okaha in place by simply holding down all his tentacles. No matter how much he cursed and strained against them he couldn't escape.

"Let me go!" Okaha yelled, "You're all going to regret this!" 

"Not a chance, _pal_ ," Terasaka smirked. 

"It's over," Karma said, limping forward, "Now tell us, where's Hirayama?" 

Okaha remained silent, and continued to strain against them, his teeth bared in an animalistic snarl. 

"The military has the entire building surrounded," a voice said from the doorway. Natsuki glanced at the doorway and saw her father walking in, flanked by two soldier armed with rifles. Karasuma stalked forward till he was standing over Okaha, "There's no escape," he said calmly, "So I suggest you do as Karma says. Where is Hirayama?" 

They still haven't found him? 

Natsuki felt something like dread creeping up her chest. Okaha threw his head back and laughed, "Do you honestly think I know?" He snarled, "Even if I did I wouldn't tell you anyway." 

Karasuma gripped his shirt, "You-"

"My, my, look at all this commotion. I'm right here Chief Karasuma." 

Natsuki's whipped her head in the direction of the voice and her heart stopped dead in her chest. Yasunori Hirayama stood a few lengths away, and he had a gun pressed against Irina's head. Her mother's hair was messy and she was cursing the man colourfully in various languages, but there was nothing she could do. Hirayama was gripping her by her injured arm, and Natsuki saw blood slipping through his fingers. The man wasn't smiling like Okaha now was, instead his expression was colder than ice.

"Sensei!" Okaha exclaimed with a laugh, he looked positively delighted. Hirayama ignored him. 

Natsuki already had her gun trained on Hirayama, and so was every shooter in the room. "Let her go," Karasuma said, his voice oddly calm, his gun was aimed at Hirayama's head. 

"Not until you let Ren go," Hirayana said. "No, let me rephrase that," he loaded his gun with a click, "Let him go, or your wife dies." 

"Ignore him, Tadaomi," Irina snapped, "He's just- Damn you!" She hissed as Hirayama's grip tightened on her arm. 

"Seriously, Karasuma-san, sending an injured agent and a child after us, what do you take us for?" Hirayama asked, his cold eyes flicked towards Natsuki, "I admit I didn't expect the girl, but her," he jereked his chin towards Irina, "Not many may recognize her but I did my research, and I knew exactly who she was the minute she approached." 

Natsuki glanced at her father and saw his jaw tightly clenched, his eyes fixed on Hirayama and Irina. "Now I ask again, let Ren go," Hirayama said calmly, "I'm not a killer, so please don't make me one." 

Natsuki resisted the urge to snort at that. There was a heavy silence following Hirayama's words. Then, "Let him go," Karasuma said through gritted teeth. "But sensei..." Karma protested. "Just... let him go," Karasuma said, "Please." 

The others hesitated but did as they were told. The second he was free, Okaha shot to his feet, his tentacles moving to kill, but Hirayama said, "Stop. Ren," he nodded to his side, "Come here." Okaha's growl wasn't entirely human, but he stumbled over to Hirayama, tentacles retracting back into his hair and trailing blood the entire way. 

"We did as you said," Natsuki snarled, "Now let her go." 

Hirayama nodded, "Yes, of course," he said, "But first I need two things from you." 

Of course he did. "What the hell do you want?" Karma spat. "Yeah, what do you want?" Asahi echoed, clinging from his father's uninjured leg. 

Hirayama eyed Asahi for a moment. There was something in those cold eyes Natsuki didn't like. "Cute. Such a brave boy," Hirayama said, before turning away. "I want him," he said nodding at Itona's still unconscious form, "And her," he said jerking his chin towards Kaeda. 

"Why?" Nagisa asked. Natsuki saw his grip on his knife tightening as he casually stepped between his wife and Hirayama. 

"Former tentacle users," Hirayama said, "I need them for an experiment. Be glad I'm not asking for the kid too," he said nodding at Asahi. 

Asahi shrank back and hid behind Karma's leg. "Do you honestly think we're just going to hand them over?" Terasaka yelled. There were shouts of agreement from the others. 

"Well I guess that depends on who's more important," Hirayama said, "Them or her." He flicked his eyes over to Karasuma, "Or more accurately who's more important to your commander." 

"Don't give him the brats," Irina growled. 

Karasuma was silent for a long moment. His gaze was locked on Irina, his wife only glared back. Finally he nodded, "Okay," he said simply. Hirayama had just enough time to look confused, before Natsuki heard her father shout, "Now!" 

Then everything happened all at once. 

Irina jerked her head to the side and Karasuma fired. There was a deafening bang, and Hirayama yelled. His shot had missed them both by a hairline. But it was enough to throw the man off, Irina didn't even flinch. She slammed her elbow into the man's jaw, and Hirayama released her with a shout, and dropped his gun. 

"Get them!"

"Sensei!" Okaha yelled, his tentacles reappearing and lashing out. Natsuki didn't have time to think twice. She raised her gun and finished her mission. 

There was a loud bang and Okaha abruptly went still. His golden eyes widened and he looked down, at blood spreading from a spot on his torn shirt. He glanced up and to her shock, Natsuki saw that there was tears in his eyes, "I... I just wanted..." He never got to finished the sentence. Blood slipped down the corners of his mouth and Okaha collapsed to the ground. 

There was a stunned silence, then Hirayama was running, bolting towards the door. 

"After him!" Karasuma ordered, charging after him, the two soldiers and a few of the men right at his heels. 

"Natsuki-chan?" 

Natsuki froze at the sound of the familiar voice. She glanced at the door and saw her entire class standing by the doorway. Hana was the one who had spoken. The look of utter horror on her friend's face was mirrored off everyone standind there. And there was something else in their eyes, something that made Natsuki's insides twist. 

Fear. 

Of her. Suddenly she found it hard to breath, when she saw at those eyes that stared at her as if she were as good a monster at Okaha. But that was what she was wasn't she? A monster. 

Natsuki let out an uneven breath and holstered her gun. She stormed out of the room, ignoring Mikado's calls after her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus:  
> Asahi Akabane (赤羽 朝日)  
> \- Asahi means morning sun
> 
> Fumio Isogai (磯貝 文雄)  
> \- Fumio means literature and hero
> 
> Ren Okaha (丘巴 蓮)  
> \- Ren means lotus flower


	20. Truths and Lies Time

"Natsuki-chan!" 

Natsuki ignored him, stalking away angrily. 

"Natsuki stop!" 

She felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning on the spot, she grabbed it and twisted, locking his arm behind his back. But faster than it was possible, Mikado pushed himself off the ground and flipped, freeing himself easily. He whirled around, gripping her shoulders. "Stop it," he snapped, giving her a shake, "Just stop it."

"Leave me alone," Natsuki snapped, "You ruined everything!" Mikado's lips curled back in a snarl, "Did I?" he growled, "By the looks of it you weren't expecting... whatever the hell that was. If I haven't intervened, you could have died." 

Natsuki glared at him, "What do you care? What I do is my problem." 

"Because I care about you! Alright?" He burst out, "I don't want to see you die!" He released her and took step back. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened his eyes, "I don't want you to die," he said more calmly. 

Natsuki stared at him, then looked away, avoiding his harsh gaze. She couldn't help the heat that rose to her face. They stood there in silence for a long moment. "I'm sorry," Natsuki said finally, "But still, you shouldn't have intervened," she looked at him, "I don't want you do die either." 

Mikado pressed his lips together, he opened his mouth to speak but then a voice called from behind him, "Natsuki-chan!" 

Natsuki glanced over his shoulder and saw Hana and Akira standing a few lengths away. Natsuki saw her two friends approach, and Mikado took a step closer towards her as if to remind her he was there. Hana and Akira reached them and Natsuki found that she could quite look them in the eye. 

"Erm..." Hana rubbed her arm awkwardly, "Your mother's asking for you," she said, "The others are also waiting for the both of you back in the hall." 

"Oh," Natsuki kept her expression blank, "Good to know," she said dryly, "Thanks for informing me." She brushed pass them, and headed towards the hall. 

"This doesn't change anything you know." Akira's words made her freeze in her tracks. "What?" The word escaped her lips before she could stop herself. Natsuki glanced back, and saw Hana and Akira exchanging a grin. "Did you really think we would stop being friends just because you shot a monster?" Hana asked. 

"We saw the whole thing, well, most of it anyway. I'll admit you're kinda scary," Akira said, "But you and Mikado were so cool." 

Natsuki just stared at them, too stunned to speak. "Where did you learn to fight like that?" Hana asked, there wasn't a trace of fear in her voice, only genuine curiosity, "You've got to teach us some of your moves, maybe they'll work on Nagisa-sensei," she said with a smile. 

Natsuki simply stared at them for a long moment. "You do realize I just killed someone don't you?" She asked, finding her voice at last. 

Akira shrugged, "And we try killing Nagisa-sensei everyday," she said. "Besides," she said darkly, "I don't think that guy counts as a person. If you hadn't shot him, I'm pretty sure he would have hurt others." 

"You didn't kill him anyway," Hana added. 

_What?_

Natsuki wasn't sure if she had said it out loud. But judging by their reaction she did. "The guy is alive," Akira explained, "Barely, they're bringing him to the hospital now." 

That should have been bad news. Okaha was better off dead, but still something loosened in her chest at Akira's words. 

"Sorry," Natsuki murmured. 

Hana frowned, "For what?" She asked. 

Natsuki swallowed thickly, "I lied to you," she said the words felt like bile in her throat. Her eyes flicked over to Mikado, "All of you." Since when did lying become a problem for her? 

"People lie," Hana said, "And we understand why you had to." 

They didn't. They really didn't. But Natsuki smiled a little, "Thank you," she said. "Come on," Akira said looping her arm through hers, and promptly dragged her in the direction of the grand hall, "The others are waiting."

She glanced over her shoulder and saw Mikado watching them silently. His dark eyes met hers and to her surprise a faint smile graced his lips. Natsuki returned his smile, "Yeah," she said, "Let's go." 

* * * 

"Well, that's one heck of a dinner," Karma said, sitting down on the raised dais beside Nagisa and setting down his can of beer with a groan, "Sorry it was ruined." 

Nagisa sighed glancing across the trashed ballroom. The police and military had stormed the entire place a few moments ago. In the end they couldn't catch Hirayama. Nagisa and the others chased the man all the way to a dead end, but when they rounded around the corner he was gone. No one understood how exactly but somehow Hirayama had simply vanished into thin air, either that or he could walk through brick walls. 

"It's alright," Nagisa said, bending the rubber knife absentmindedly as they watched the police go about their work, lead by Karasuma. Okaha's blood soaked form was being carried away by a couple of medics on a stretcher. The boy had somehow survived Natsuki's shot to the heart, whether or not he would live to see the morning was a different story altogether. 

"Why are you apologising anyway? None of it is your fault," Nagisa grinned, "On the bright side it really brought back memories don't you think?" He said lifting his blade. 

Karma snorted, leaning back on his elbows, "How do you keep smiling like that all the time?" He asked, but his lips curved into a grin, "But yeah, I have to admit it was fun," he glanced in Okaha's direction, "That kid's insane but I hope he survives." 

"Yeah," Nagisa murmured, "He's just a kid, he was probably being manipulated." But a kid or no, there's no denying the fact that Okaha was a danger to himself and everyone else. Nagisa eyed Karma's wounded leg, now wrapped in bandages, "How's your leg by the way?" He asked.

Karma shrugged, "Could have been worse," he said glancing down and turning his leg around, "It's not as bad as I thought it was and Manami patched it up pretty good. I'll be fine in a week." 

Nagisa leaned back on his hands, "Still can't believe you didn't tell the rest of us about this whole thing," he said. 

Karma smirked, "Sorry," he said, "Protocol and whatever Karasuma-sensei was talking about." He sighed, picking up his beer and taking a long swing. Nagisa knew he had a ridiculously high tolerance for alcohol but judging by the amount of drinks he had downed throughout the entire night, he was genuinely surprised he wasn't drunk yet. Karma lowered his can, "So what do you think that boy was?" 

Nagisa glanced at him. His best friend was staring up at the ceiling, his eyes distant. "Who knows?" Nagisa murmured, "Did Karasuma-sensei tell you guys anything?" 

Karma shook his head, "No," he rubbed the back of his neck, "His military guys only showed us the pictures of the two. They told us that they would probably cause trouble tonight and that we should be prepared. I don't think they knew much about the situation themselves." 

They were quiet for a moment, lost in thought. "But those were his weren't they?" Nagisa said finally. Karma was silent. "Yeah, those were definitely Korosensei's tentacles," he said finally, "A lot sharper around the edges though, probably mutated versions of the original like the ones Itona-kun had." 

"But why on earth would Okaha have them?" Nagisa murmured. 

Karma took a sip of his beer, "That's the question isn't it?" He said, "Guess the military lied when they said they would destroy all evidence of Yanagisawa's work." He ran a hand through his hair, "Not going to lie, I would have done the same," he said, "Hirayama must have gotten his hands on their weapon or at least the plans for them." 

Nagisa thought about it and something occurred to him, "Karasuma-sensei mentioned that the ministry was developing a Mach 23 weapon about seven years ago, " he said, "Maybe Okaha's the weapon he was talking about." 

Karma shook his head, "I don't think so," he said, "Okaha looked more like a failed prototype to me. Honestly he wasn't much better than Itona and Kaeda, worse even, since he was so much slower," he pointed out, "I'm sure the Ministry of Defense can do a lot more than that in seventeen years." Karma's amber eyes flickered, "Okaha was probably Hirayama's work," he said. 

Nagisa glanced across the mess Okaha left behind, "A lot more than that huh?" He murmured more to himself than Karma. 

He caught Karma watching him out of the corner of his eye, "Don't worry to much about it, Nagisa," he said shifting his gaze away, "There are a few people in the military who owe me favours. I'll try pulling a few strings to figure out what's going on." 

Nagisa chuckled, "Of course."

"Anyway enough of that," Karma said, abruptly sitting up, "It's supposed to be a fun night and the party's not over yet," he said with a grin. Nagisa glanced at him warily. 

"What are you talking about?" He asked. 

Karma's grin widened and that alone was enough to set off warning bells in his head. "There's still the after party," Karma said, "Since this place got trashed, let's go somewhere else." 

"Where?" Nagisa asked. 

Karma smirked, "I've got a place in mind." 

* * * 

Mikado trailed along behind as the girls approached the grand hall. At least half the class had remained while the other half had already left with the rest of the guest. The ones that stayed were waiting for them at the entrance of the hall alongside a few military personnel and Irina.

Though they had been initially shocked, their classmates were surprisingly okay with Natsuki shooting a man. Mikado didn't expect any less from them.

As soon as the military officers were done questioning him and Natsuki, his classmates crowded around them, bombarding her with even more questions. Mikado left the storytelling to Natsuki and managed to slip away without them noticing. 

He stepped into ballroom and surveyed the sorry remains of the trashed hall. The ballroom was empty spare for the few policemen and Nagisa's classmates. The place was a mess, tables were overturned and the white cloths hanging down the walls were torn to shreds. White petals and broken tableware littered the entire floor. 

It had barely been an hour and the police and military were already finishing up. Mikado watched as they packed up their things in a hurry and made way for the cleanup team. He had the nagging suspicion they wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. As for why he wasn't entirely sure. 

Mikado's gaze was drawn towards the area in the back of the hall. Crimson pools stained the tiled floor where Okaha had gone down. He wasn't sure what exactly, but something compelled him walk forward, till he was standing with his shoes barely an inch away from the bloody mess on the ground. No one stopped him. 

Mikado gazed down at the dark liquid, now half tried on the smooth white tiles. He wondered who Okaha was. The look in the man's eyes when Natsuki shot him didn't sit very well with Mikado. It made him wonder if there had been a man under the deranged monster they had fought against, or had Ren Okaha already been lost long ago along with his sanity?

A glint of silver he saw out the corner of his eye caught his attention. Mikado glanced to the side and he saw something shiny on the ground barely five feet away, half hidden in the shadows of a table that had somehow survived the hall's destruction.

Frowning, Mikado stepped forward and knelt down to pick up the silver object. It was surprisingly heavy and about two inches in length, shaped like a solid cylinder. Mikado turned the cylinder over in his hands, and his frown deepened. 

His fingertips found a barely noticeable line halfway down the cylinder. He twisted it and the tube came appart to reveal a flash drive socket. 

A flash drive? 

Mikado's gaze wandered back towards the blood stained tiles, his grip on the two halves of the flash drive tightened. 

Was it Okaha's? 

He glanced over his shoulder and saw that the last military members had left the room, while his teacher's as well as his own classmates still hung around the front of the hall. Mikado capped the flash drive and slipped it into his pocket. 

One of the guest must have dropped it while trying to get away. No way could the military have overlooked something this important. But Mikado had the dire feeling that wasn't the case. 

"Mikado-kun?" 

Mikado heard a familiar voice behind him. He turned and saw Renji standing behind him, "What are you up to?" He asked. There was an edge of suspicion in his tone. 

Mikado slipped his hands into his pockets, "Nothing," he said flatly, keeping his expression bored. Renji gave him an odd look but he didn't push it, "Anyway, we're all heading to that abandoned school campus. You want to tag along?" 

Mikado frowned, "Abandoned school campus?" 

"Yeah the one on the mountain behind the main building," Renji said, "Apparently it was Nagisa-sensei's old classroom. The entire mountain belongs him and his classmates," he explained, "I think they're throwing a party over there with just the few of them. Nagisa-sensei invited us along." 

"That's... nice of him."

Renji crossed his arms, "So are you coming or what?" He asked, "The others are already leaving." 

"Sure," Mikado said as nonchalantly as he could, his fingers curling around the flash drive in his pocket, "Let's go."


	21. Back to School Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay guys. (¯―¯٥) I'm currently facing a massive writer's block. Here's a slightly longer chapter to make up for it.

"Sensei... Are we there yet?" Renji asked for what was probably the third time in the last five minutes. 

Mikado glanced back with a raised eyebrow and saw the dark haired boy trailing behind. The night was dark but Mikado could tell he looked worn out. He didn't blame him, they had been trekking through the dense forest for the past half an hour. The mountain was steep and the road to the old campus was barely a path and more of rarely used jungle trail. Mikado lost track of the times he had tripped over a rock or a branch or his own feet. The trip up the mountain might very well be a minefield. 

They had to cross broken bridges, an area filled with unstable boulders, beehives and snake nests. How the four girls managed with their ridiculous dresses remained a mystery to him. After all that Renji wasn't the only one looking tired, behind him all his six classmates that had followed looked equally worned out, spare Kaito perhaps. 

"Quit whining," the baseball captain snapped, cuffing the other boy over the head and stalking pass him, "It's getting annoying." 

"Leave him alone, Kaito-kun," Koharu shot back, "Why on earth did you even want to come? Your friends all went home." 

"At least my friends didn't bring a goddamn guitar along!"

"Hey! Don't drag me into this," Ichiro snapped.

"Koharu-chan started it! And watch were you swing that damn guitar, you've nearly hit me in the head at least four times this past half hour!" 

"Maybe it's because your head's too big," Jin suggested with a deadpan look. 

"You-"

"No more fighting or we're all turning around," Nagisa-sensei called from the front, "Besides, we're almost there."

Mikado glanced up front. The adults up ahead showed no signs of slowing down any time soon. They made climbing a mountain look almost easy, laughing and joking the entire way as if it were a stroll in the park. 

Natsuki was no where in sight, and she had made no move to talk to him, the entire way up the mountain. Mikado guessed that she was probably up ahead with her parents. Somehow Nagisa and his classmates had managed to drag Irina and a protesting Chief of the Military of Defense, who both turned out to be their former teachers, along with them. Mikado still wasn't sure how they had done it. 

"Yo, Nagisa-kun!" 

Mikado flinched at the too loud voice. The tall red haired man appeared out of nowhere, looping an arm around Nagisa's neck, "What are you doing hanging back here huh?" He demanded, his words were slightly slurred, "Kaeda's all alone up front," he said with a smirk. 

"Uh... Karma, I think you've had enough to drink." 

"Don't worry I'm not drunk," Karma said, "And since when did you start ordering me around Nagisa-kun?" 

Nagisa only smiled, "I'm not ordering you around," he said, "And I thought we agreed to forget the honorifics?" 

Karma scowled at him, "Since when?" He asked. 

"Erm... Seventeen years ago." 

"Really?" Karma looked so surprised it was comical. Behind Mikado Hana and Akira stifled a laugh. Karma either didn't hear them or didn't care. "Very well, _Nagisa_ ," he smirked, "I'm still not going to take orders from a shorty like you." 

Mikado let out a snort of laughter and Karma's whipped his head in his direction, "You," his eyes narrowed, "You're that kid that fought with us, aren't you?" 

Mikado's faint smile faded entirely, "Yeah," he said, "What about it?" 

Karma eyed him, those piercing amber eyes were bright even though he was clearly intoxicated. Then his lips twitched into a smirk, "I like you, kid," he said, "A word of advice, you should be careful."

Mikado frowned, "Why?" He asked. 

"You look like the sort of person who would get into a lot of trouble eventually." 

Mikado scowled and his teacher frowned at Karma. "Stop scaring him," Nagisa said, "I know Mikado-kun and he's probably the least likely to get into any kind of trouble." 

The confidence in his teacher's words made Mikado's shoulders curl inwards ever so slightly. The flash drive in his pocket felt suddenly heavy. He really should be just handing it over to them, but something was stopped him. He hadn't quite figured out what that something was. 

"Mikado-kun is it?" Karma grinned, "Such a fancy name," he scratched the back of his head, "What are parents thinking now a days? Do they want to to be the emperor?" 

Mikado scowled, "My parents have high expectations for me," he said stonily. Expectations he probably fail to achieve the minute he got kicked out of the A Class. Not that he cared anymore. 

"That'a a pity," Karma murmured, "Your teacher can relate, am I right _Nagisa-sensei?_ " 

Nagisa caught whatever look that was on Mikado's face and abruptly changed the topic, "Uh... Karma, where's Asahi-kun?" 

Karma frowned, "Probably with Manami," he said, "He's feeling lonely without Fumio-kun. Why do you ask?" 

"Well, because he's right there," he said pointing towards the red haired kid, "And I think Okajima is showing him some pictures on his camera." 

"What...?" Karma's head snapped in the direction of the short haired man, who froze dead in his tracks. Karma unhooked his arm from Nagisa's neck, and cracked his knuckles, his voice was more of a low growl, "Okajima you... _Baka!_ " 

The photographer took one look at Karma's murderous expression and took of running. "Come here!" Karma yelled, taking off after him and somehow keeping up despite his wounded leg. 

Nagisa chuckled, "Sorry about that, Mikado-kun," he said, "Karma's can be a little... Intense when he's had one too many drinks."

Mikado glanced over in the front where Karma had caught Okajima. He held the man in a headlock, a knife glinting in his hand its point inches from his eye. 

"That looks kind of dangerous," Mikado said. 

Nagisa grinned waving aside his concern, "They're just having some fun," he said, "Karma doesn't mean it." 

"Your friends seem like a lot of fun, Nagisa-sensei," Hana spoke up. 

"And not to mention crazy," Kaito muttered under his breath. 

"How can you guys fight like that?" Akira asked, "You guys look like pros." 

Nagisa smiled, "We're not pros," he said, "As for how we can fight like that," he glanced upwards at something none of them could see. "It's a long story," he grinned, "Maybe I'll tell it to you all some day." 

"Oi! You guys at the back, hurry up!" Muramatsu shouted, "We're here!" 

"Coming!" Nagisa shouted back. He turned back to his students, "You heard him," he said with a smile, "Come on." 

Mikado heard groans from behind him, but they quickened their pace. Even Mikado's legs were trembling when they finally reached their destination. "Where are we?" Ichiro muttered, combing his dark blue hair back from his face and frowning at what he saw. 

They stood in a dark clearing. Mikado spotted the silhouette of a single story building a few lengths away, a crumbling stone signboard read 'Old School Building'.

Nagisa smiled glancing back at them, "We're in school," he replied. 

* * *

The wooden planks creaked beneath Mikado's feet, as he walked along the porch of the old school. The place was so small. He had gone exploring and it took him exactly ten minutes to cover the entire place. There was a single classroom, a tiny faculty lounge, a sport field at the back and that was just about it. 

But despite its age, the place was well maintained. The wooden floorboards were new, the windows were clean and there were no cobwebs to be found anywhere in the building. It looked as if the building was cleaned weekly and ready for use. All it lacked was its students. 

"Oi! Kid! I mean, Mikado-kun! Come over here and help us out!" Karma yelled. 

Mikado snapped out of his thoughts and leapt off the porch, hurrying over to the others. "Uh... what...?" Before he could finish asking, Karma shoved an axe into his hand. 

"You're strong aren't you?" He said with a grin, "Go help your friend over there. I think he needs it." 

Mikado raised an eyebrow, glancing over to where Karma had gestured and saw Kaito cursing under his breath as he helped a few other men chop logs into pieces of wood. The process was going to painfully slow Mikado almost felt sorry for him. 

He sighed, "Fine," he said stalking over to Kaito. "Good kid," Karma called after him and Mikado rolled his eyes. 

A few moments later, Mikado found himself sitting in a large circle surrounding a bonfire between Natsuki and Renji. The others were talking, but as Miakdo gazed into the crackling flames all he could focus on was the girl beside him or more precisely the silence between them. Natsuki had sat down beside him wordlessly and hadn't spoken a single word to him, he hadn't dared to break the silence. 

"Oi Mikado-kun," Renji elbowed him, "You've got to try this," he said offering him a plate of assorted sushi, "It's amazing." Mikado scowled, "No thanks," he muttered. He wasn't sure how the others could still eat, all that stomach turning blood and gore from the earlier fight had killed whatever remains of his appetite.

"Yeah, Hara-chan, this stuff is amazing," Yada spoke up, "You should try working with Muramatsu-kun sometimes." 

"Actually we were thinking about doing a collaboration," Hara said, scratching the back of his head, "The food industry is getting more competitive now a days." 

Mikado was barely listening. The chatter of the adult eventually became nothing more than a hum im the background. He glanced at Natsuki out of the corner of his eye and saw her gazing into the fire, flames dancing in her clear blue eyes.

"Sensei, was this really your school?" Koharu asked, abruptly snapping Mikado out of his reverie. 

"Yup," Nagisa said with a smile, "It was our classroom for our thrid year in junior high," he said. 

"And what a year that was," Kaeda murmured from beside him, her hazel eyes distant as she gazed up at the star flecked sky. "Yeah," Nagisa agreed, "It really was." 

"But this place is so small," Renji muttered, gazing at the old building a stone throw away. Karma smirked, "That's because it was just us," he said from where he sat leaning back against a log. The light fire reflected off his amber eyes and turning them a pale gold, "The End Class." 

"End Class?" Hana asked. 

Karma nodded. He sighed, "Those were the days," he said with a lazy grin, "Sure miss them, right, Nagisa-kun?" 

"Yeah," Nagisa said, the firelight turning his glasses opaque. "Say, Karma-kun, do you ever wonder what would have happened if things had truned out differently?" 

Karma snorted, "No," he said, "Thinking about it wouldn't change anything. It's probably best not thing about it at all." He yawned and stretched, "It's all in the past anyway." 

"What are you guys talking about?" Kaito asked with a frown. Out of the corner of his eye, Mikado saw Natsuki stiffen. Her father who sat on the opposite side of the circle seemed to be watching them closely. 

"Hah," Nagisa smiled looking down at the ground, "It's nothing," he said. "Koharu-chan," he called, "I think we're missing some music, you didn't get to sing back at the dinner did you?" He grinned, "How about a song now?" 

Koharu froze, "Uh... Nagisa-sensei..." she shifted around uncomfortably, "I don't think..."

"Come on Koharu," Jin said glanced at her with a grin, "We were planning to do it anyway." 

"Yeah, Jin's right," Ichiro said, grabbing his guitar, "Let's just do it now."

"Half the class isn't here," Koharu pointed out, "And you don't have your drums," she said, shooting a look at Jin. 

Jin smirked, "Who needs drums," he said, "When you've got this?" He said drumming his hands on the hollow log he sat on in a infectious rhythm. "But-" Koharu protested again but Hana cut her off, "Come on Koharu-chan," she urged, "Everyone knows you're the best singer in our year and we still haven't heard you sing in person." 

"I haven't sang since we got kicked out of the band," Koharu mumbled. Jin abruptly stopped drumming then and Ichiro looked away. "But alright," she said, "I'll sing, for Nagisa-sensei and Kaeda-san." Her two friends brightened immediately. "Yes!" Ichiro said triumphantly, pumping his first in the air. 

Koharu tucked a stray strain of hair from her face, "Just a warning we're petty rusty," she said with a slight grimace. 

"Just play us the song already," Karma drawled, stifling a yawn. His wife slapped his arm. "Ouch," he complained, his expression remaining bored. 

Jin grinned, "As you wish," he said, "It's a song the class wrote for Nagisa-sensei and Kaeda-san," he explained, "Take it as a wedding gift, it was Misuki-chan's idea." 

"What's it called?" Irina asked from the opposite side of the bonfire. 

Koharu smiled, " _Mata Kimi Ni Aeru Hi _," she said. Ichiro started strumming his guitar in a soft gentle tune and Koharu started to sing.__

__The song was... nostalgic. Mikado wasn't quiet sure how it made him feel, but he felt something._ _

__It was a calming, something he definitely needed after the nights happenings. It was sad yet hopeful at the same time. It didn't suit a wedding at all, in Mikado's opinion it was far too sad. But his classmates didn't seem to care, and Mikado had been nodding off when they were writing it in class._ _

__Koharu was an incredible singer with a voice unlike any other, even Mikado found himself liking the song._ _

__But someone clearly didn't._ _

__A minute into the song, Natsuki stood up and left. "Natsuki-chan..." Hana called after her but Natsuki stormed away. Kaito made a move to stand but for some reason seem to change his mind at the last second._ _

__"Just let her go," Karasuma said quietly._ _

__Mikado did the exact opposite and stood up chasing after Natsuki without a word._ _

__* * *_ _

__She had to get away. From her classmates, her parents, her teacher, from everyone who laughed and enjoyed themselves, acting as if nothing had happened at all._ _

__Natsuki stalked pass the old school building. She didn't look back when she heard Hana calling after her, and she didn't so much as glance his way when she heard the familiar near silent footfalls approaching. Mikado caught up with her easily._ _

__"Natsuki," he said, "Where are you going?"_ _

__"I don't know," she said through gritted teeth. She didn't slow down. "Anywhere other than here. I just need to get away them."_ _

__Mikado was quiet for a moment, then she felt finger closing around her wrist. She froze, throwing a glare at him. Mikado's expression was unreadable._ _

__"Okay," he said calmly, "Come with me." He said, "I know a place."_ _

__Natsuki eyed him warily before deciding she probably had nothing to lose. "Fine," she said. Mikado's fingers slipped from her wrist down to her hand, "Follow me," he said tugging her in the direction of the dark forest._ _

__God, she must really trust him._ _

__Mikado lead her through the dense trees. Natsuki had no idea where they were going but Mikado seemed to know exactly what he was doing. It wasn't long till they reached a clearing._ _

__Natsuki stepped out of the treeline and found herself standing on a stone overhang. She gazed down and felt her jaw fall open._ _

__Mikado had brought her to a pond._ _

__The body of water before them was just slightly larger than an average backyard swimming pool. The crystal clear waters reflected the moonlight, making the pond look like a shimmering pool of stars. Fireflies danced along the water's edge, illuminating the place with a gentle glow. The pond's edge was overgrown with wildflowers, and lilies floated across the water's surface._ _

__It looked like something out of a fairytale._ _

__"Do you like it?" Mikado asked softly from behind her. Natsuki nodded wordlessly._ _

__Mikado stepped up beside her, "I come here sometimes when I skip class," he explained, sitting down with a groan, "I accidentally ended up here one day when I was looking for the old school building last year," he chuckled lowly, "And it turned out to be right there all along."_ _

__"Anyway it's a good place to just sit and think," Mikado glanced at her, "If you want some time alone this is about as good as it gets."_ _

__Natsuki sat down beside him. "Thank you," she said after a long moment. Mikado gazed across the pond, "You have nothing to thank me for," he said._ _

__Silence fell between them and for a with only the sound to be heard was the noise of moving water and the faint sound Koharu's singing from the distance. "I'm an assassin," Natsuki said finally breaking the the silence, "You're right."_ _

__Mikado's eyebrows nitted together, "I never said you were an assassin."_ _

__"But you thought about it," Natsuki said. Mikado didn't deny it. There was a short pause then he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Listen Natsuki, you can be an pro assassin or just some ordinary girl, it wouldn't make any difference to me," he said, "I'm sure it wouldn't make a difference to the others either."_ _

__Natsuki snorted, "Easy for you to say that, you haven't seen what I can do, the things I've already done. You haven't seen someone hurt and know that you're the one at fault."_ _

__He didn't know what it was like._ _

__"But I do know what it's like," Mikado said, reading her mind. Natsuki glanced up at him, "What?"_ _

__Mikado laced his fingers together, his thumb brushing over the barely visible thin scars Natsuki only realized now he had on his right hand._ _

__They looked like claw marks._ _

__"You may not believe me, but I know exactly what that's like," Mikado said quietly. He didn't elaborate futher and there was a heavy silence following his words._ _

__Natsuki leaned back against her hands, "You know, I've been asking around about you," she said, "From what I've heard you were the star student of the A Class not half a year ago. Good grades, popular, got along with everyone." Natsuki glanced at him, "Now the A Class hates your guts and you seem to have had a complete personality switch."_ _

__Mikado remained quiet._ _

__"Why is that exactly?" She asked._ _

__Mikado stared down at his hands, his knuckles were white, "I made mistake," he said, "Someone else paid the price." His dark eyes were dull and empty, "If they told you the whole story, you know I deserve every bit of hate thrown my way."_ _

__Natsuki turned her gaze away from him, "Well it's a good thing they didn't tell me," she said, "I didn't ask."_ _

__His head snapped up. He looked surprised... and relieved. "It doesn't matter to me either," Natsuki said, smiling a little, "What they think about you and whatever you've done."_ _

__Mikadi stared at her for a long moment, then his lips twitched upwards in a lopsided smile. "Hah... Good to know."_ _

__They lapsed into a comfortable silence, both lost in their own thoughts. "Jezz tonight was supposed to be fun," he mumbled. Natsuki glanced at him saw that he was standing up._ _

__"What are you doing?" She asked warily._ _

__Mikado grinned, dark eyes gleaming with amusement. He bowed offering her a hand, "You know, we never got to finish that dance," he said. Natsuki stared at him, "Are you serious?" She asked._ _

__"I'm always serious," he assured her._ _

__Natsuki shook her head in disbelief but she took his scarred hand, and allowed him to help her up. "Mikado Takahashi, you're really something aren't you?"_ _

__Mikado smiled gripping her hand, his other hand slipping around her waist. Natsuki gazed up into those haunting dark eyes and they began to dance. Mikado was surprisingly a good dancer, never tripping or stepping on her feet._ _

__"Where did you learn to dance?" She asked._ _

__Mikado chuckled, but there was no humour in the sound, "It's a long story," he said. His expression remained neutral but his eyes were sad, "I'll tell one day." It sounded like a promise._ _

__So they danced to the faint music. Two silent silhouettes in the pale moonlight._ _


	22. Breaking Time

_He hung his head. The rain was pouring down on him, and pounding against the back of his neck as he gazed down at the fresh grave. His dark hair was wet, sticking to the sides of his face and felt numb all over. He couldn't even find it in himself to cry._

_"It's all your fault!"_

_A girl he barely recognized appeared out of nowhere and shoved against his shoulder. Mikado stumbled backwards. He didn't even try to retaliate. It was true after all. It was all his fault. He gripped his wounded hand, the bandages were wet and blood was seeping through the grey cloth._

_"I'm sorry," his voice was barely audible over the sound of the rain._

_"Sorry won't bring her back!"_

_The girl moved to shove him again but her friends held her back. "You could have done something!" The girl crying as she screamed at him, "Why did you let her go?"_

_"I'm sorry," Mikado repeated without looking up. There was nothing else he could say. His bound hand curled into a fist, even as pain spiked up his arm._

_"I am sorry."_

* * * 

Mikado opened his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall of his room. It had been almost a year since it happened and the bitter memory hadn't fade even the least. He ran a hand through his hair and glanced at his study table.

He eyed the flash drive sitting casually on his desk from where he sat on his bed. It was almost two hours since he got back home and he hadn't touched it yet, hadn't dared to. He glanced at the clock on his bedside table. 

2:16 a.m.

Deciding now was a better time than anytime, he got of his bed and sat down at his desk. Booting up his laptop, he waited for his homepage to show before he plugged the flash dive into a port. 

His screen instantly went black and white text in capital letters appeared at the centre. 

 

PASSWORD

_ _ _ _ _ _

(5 ATTEMPTS REMAINING)

 

Mikado frowned, tapping a finger on his desk. Six letters. On a whim he typed in R Okaha. The six dots in the spaces vanished the moment he pressed enter and the five attempts turned into a four. 

Mikado cursed inwardly. He didn't dare try it again. Instead he got up and grabbed his phone. He hesitated only a split second before making the call. His phone rang only once before he heard the sound of Misuki was yawning into his ear. 

"Who is this? What do you want from me? If your calling about stolen gun parts it wasn't me." Misuki mumbled, still half asleep. 

"Misuki-chan, it's me" Mikado said. 

"Mikado-kun?" Misuki groaned, "What time is it?" 

Mikado ignored the question, "I need you to add me into the class groupchat," he said. There was a short pause, Mikado was just beginning to suspect she had fallen back asleep, when she asked, "Now?"

"Yes now."

"Why?" Misuki asked, "Though you had a thing against all forms of social interaction?" 

Mikado sighed, "Just do it," he said. 

"Already done," Misuki said with a yawn, "Was doing it while you were talking. Can I sleep now?"

Mikado hesitated, "One more thing," he said and Misuki groaned, "Can it wait till tomorrow? Or is today tomorrow already?" 

"No," Mikado said, "It's important. I need your help with something." 

There was another pause, then a sigh, "Alright. What do you need?" 

"How good are you with computers?" He asked. 

"I know the basics," he heard the frown in Misuki's words, "But I'm more into mechanics. Renji-kun and Sora-kun are the tech geeks, Farlan-kun's not half bad either." 

Mikado pressed his lips together. "Are you free tomorrow?" He asked. 

"Asano-sensei declared tomorrow a holiday because of the whole mess that happened right?"

"Yeah," Mikado replied. 

"Then I'm free," Misuki said, "What about it?" 

Mikado eyed the screen of his laptop, "I need you to do me a favor." 

* * * 

"Okaha's dead?" 

Natsuki stared at the man in a sharp business suit standing in their living room who had delivered the news to them as casually as someone commenting on the weather. Then ministry agent nodded stiffly, "He died a few minutes after reaching the hospital," he explained, "Unfortunately we were unable to get anything out of him." 

Natsuki glanced at her father, standing behind her, she could almost sense his stress levels rising. "And Hirayama?" 

The man shook his head, "We couldn't find anything," he said regretfully, "He didn't leave a single trace."

Karasuma sighed, "Did we at least find out who Okaha really is?" He asked.

The man looked visibly relieved to be able to deliver good news. "In fact, yes," he said straightening, "Because of your suspicions the data team did a rerun and they found that you were right, Okaha's identifications were fakes. His real name isn't even Ren Okaha." 

"Then what is real name?" Irina asked, from where she sat on the couch. 

"He doesn't have one," the agent said, "No official one recognized by any country anyway." He glanced at Karasuma, "They did a DNA test on him in the hospital and they discovered he was the son of an assassin who died seventeen years ago. The God of Death, the second one that is. Do you remember him?" 

"How can I not?" Karasuma murmured. 

Natsuki recognized the name, she had first heard it from the vauge stories her parents told her years ago. She had learned everything other spine chilling detail about the assassin and his kills from the ministry archives she had broken into. Extreme as he was, Natsuki had to admit he was by far the best assassin to have ever walked the earth only rivaled by the first God of Death. She had even stolen a few of his moves for herself. 

"Who is his mother?" Karasuma asked. 

"Some German woman by the name of Hannah Kaiser," the agent replied. 

"Is she alive?" 

"We don't know." 

"Then why are you still here?" Karasuma asked, a hint of impatience in his voice, "Gather up the team and find her. Pull up all the files on the G.O.D as well, and get me a full report by today. For now Okaha's past is our only lead." 

The man nodded, "Right away, sir," he said. He grabbed his briefcase hurriedly and turned leave but then he paused. "I almost forgot," he murmured turning to Natsuki, "The ministry officially thanks you for successfully carrying out your mission, Natsuki-san," he bowed, "Of course payment for your job has been wired into your account. We hope to work with you again." 

Natsuki only nodded stiffly. The agent nodded to her parents, "Irina-san," he acknowledged, "Karasuma-sama." 

"I'll see you in the office." 

The man left and Natsuki sat down beside her mother, and watched as her father packed up his things. "I've got to go," he said, "I'll be back in the evening," he said. 

"I'm coming with you," Irina said, "Lovro might know a thing or two about the Reaper." Karasuma shot her a glare, "After last night? Not a chance," he said, eyeing the bandage on her arm, "You said it was only a graze." 

Natsuki rolled her eyes and got up. "I'll be in my room," she said. She rather not be around when they got into another one of their petty fights. 

"Technically it's still a graze." 

"How on earth does a two inch deep bullet wound count as a graze?" Karasuma demanded. 

"It grazed the bone?" 

"That's not even funny! Why didn't you at least tell-" 

Natsuki closed the door to her room and their voices grew muffled. By the time she dared step out of her room, her father had relented and her mother was grabbing her keys. "Can you handle things here?" Irina asked glancing her way. 

"Sure," Natsuki said, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall. Karasuma nodded, "See you in the evening," he said. 

They left and Natsuki rolled her eyes, turning to go back to her room. Then she heard a tap on the glass sliding doors leading to the balcony. Her head whipped in the direction of the sound and saw Mikado standing outside, arms crossed and scowling. She had to blink a few times to make sure she wasn't dreaming. 

_"Mikado?"_

Mikado only shot her a flat look. _"Let me in,"_ he mouthed. 

Natsuki made her way to the sliding door and unlocked it. Mikado slid the door open and stepped in without waiting for an invitation, "Thought they were never going to leave," he grumbled. 

Natsuki stared at him incredulously. "This is the twenty-fifth floor," she said. 

"I know," Mikado muttered, rolling his shoulder back with a crack. "You have no idea how hard it was to get up here," he said, "I had to stop on the seventeenth floor. Nearly gave this nice old lady a heart attack." 

Natsuki stared at him, "You could have just used the elevator," she pointed out. Mikado shrugged, "Where's the fun in that?" His lips twitched into a wry smirk, "And I would be getting all that classified information now would I?" He grinned, "Sorry about Okaha by the way," he said sarcastically.

"He's better off dead," Natsuki snapped. She sighed, "What exactly are you doing here?" 

The smile faded from Mikado's lips and he closed the glass door. "We need your help," he said. Natsuki frowned, "We?" 

"Oh right," Mikado walked towards the front door. Natsuki followed, watching in bewilderment as he took out his phone and made a call. Someone picked up and Mikado said, "You guys can come in now." 

"Mikado, what are you-" 

Mikado unlocked the door and the door burst open. "Hi! Natsuki-chan!" Misuki said barging in before Natsuki could even reply. 

"Misuki-chan?" 

Behind her, Renji and Sora stepped into the threshold a lot less quieter and looking uncomfortable. "Yo, Natsuki-chan," Renji said, waving a hand awkwardly.

"Woah you're penthouse is huge!" Misuki shouted from inside the house, "I didn't know you were rich!"

"Hello Natsuki-chan," Sora mumbled, grimacing as he stared after Misuki's back, "Sorry about Misuki."

Natsuki whirled on dark haired boy behind her, "Mikado Takahashi, what is going on?" She demanded, "What are you all doing here?" Mikado raised his hands placatingly, "Let's just go inside, I promise I'll explain." 

"You didn't even _tell_ her?" Renji stared at Mikado in disbelief, "Do you have a death wish?"

"Tell me what?" Natsuki asked. 

Mikado sighed, "Just get inside," he said. Natsuki glanced indoors where Misuki was darting about out the house and looking at everything like a forensic scientist at a crime scene. 

"Fine," she growled, throwing at glare at Mikado, "You owe me one," she said. Mikado smirked, "Sounds good to me." 

* * * 

"I found this at the dinner," Mikado said, holding up the silver flash drive, "It wasn't far away from where Okaha had been shot." 

The five of them sat in Natsuki's living room. Natsuki sat on the couch, facing Mikado on the opposite side of the coffee table, who had dragged up a chair from the dining table. Misuki and Renji were sitting on the floor, while Sora sat cross legged on a beanbag. 

Natsuki eyed the flash drive in his hand. "Why didn't you hand it over to the cops?" She asked. Mikado capped the flash drive and turned the silver tube in his hands, "I found this out in the open," he said, "You can't miss it, so tell me, why on earth did the officials overlook it?" 

Natsuki frowned, and saw her frown mirrored on the faces of everyone there. "Maybe someone was just being careless," Sora suggested. 

Mikado snorted, "I don't think anyone the Ministry of Defense can be that careless," he said, "Especially since they're so desperate to catch Hirayama." 

"What are you implying?" Natsuki asked, a wary edge in her voice. 

"Nothing," Mikado said, "All I'm saying is that this," he raised the flash drive, "Should have been found, but it wasn't and I think that means something." 

"Means what?" Renji asked. 

Mikado tossed him the flash drive, "We'll know when we open it." 

Renji frowned, snatching the flash drive out of the air and glancing down at it, "You said there was a six pin password on it?" Mikado nodded and Renji exchanged a glance with Sora. "Well that's not too hard to crack," he said, "You sure it isn't just some random thing a guest dropped?" 

Mikado shrugged, "It could be," he said, "But I have a feeling it's more than that."

Renji frowned, "Alright," he said, he throwing the the flash drive over to Sora, "Plug it in and let's see what we've got." 

A few moments later the five of them were staring at the white texts on the black screen of Mikado's laptop. Renji frowned, "That definitely looks like some high level shit," he said peering over Sora's shoulder, "Right, four attempts, I'm guessing you already had at go at it?" He asked glancing at Mikado. 

Mikado nodded, "I tired R Okaha in English," he said. 

Sora snorted, "It's never that obvious," he sighed, shoving his glasses up his nose, "Okay, guesses anyone?" He asked, fingers poised over the keyboard. Misuki frowned, "Wait I thought the two of you could work your way around it," she said. 

"Yeah, we can," Sora said, "But that will take a lot of time and effort. Sometimes its best to guess first, maybe you'll get lucky." 

"What happens if we get them all wrong?" Natsuki asked. 

Sora shrugged. "Judging by how it looks, best case scenario it just locks itself for a bit, worse case it self-destructs and destroys the server." 

"Hey! I have some important work in there," Mikado said. 

"I know," Sora said, "That's why we'll stop guessing once we hit one attempt left." He nodded at the screen, "We've still got three attempts, who's first?" 

There was a long silence. Renji scratched the back of his head, "We don't actually know anything about this guy," he pointed out, "How are we supposed to guess." 

"That's why Natsuki's here," Mikado said, "The ministry must have provided you with information before sending you after Okaha, am I right?" 

"Wait, sending you after Okaha?" Renji glanced up, "What are you... like an hitman or something?" 

Natsuki looked away and saw Misuki rolled her eyes, "Took you that long to catch on?" She asked. 

"Wait seriously?" 

"They didn't give me much," Natsuki said, pointedly ignoring Renji, "This guy's a ghost, the ministry hardly knows a thing about him." 

"You're really an assassin?" 

"I'm sure you know something," Mikado said as if Renji hadn't spoken at all. "It it really belongs to Okaha, it's definitely something only he and Hirayama would know." He glanced her way, "Take a guess?" 

Natsuki frowned at the six blank space on the screen. Then something occurred to her, "Try Hannah," she said, spelling out the word. 

Sora frowned, "Why Hannah?" He asked, typing in the letters. 

"It's his mother's name," Natsuki said. 

Sora hit the enter button and the dots vanished and the words read three attempts left. Misuki and Renji let out sounds of disappointment. "Not it," Sora said, "What about her last name?" 

"Kaiser," she said. 

Sora tried it and once again the password was rejected. Mikado gritted his teeth, "One last try," he said. 

"Maybe with a capital letter?" Misuki suggested. Sora frowned at her. "What?" She demanded, "You've got a better idea?" 

Sora sighed, "Nope," he said, entering the letters. Natsuki wasn't sure what she was expecting, but once again the dots disappeared and the text read one attempt left. Renji shrugged, "Well, that's that," he said, taking out his own laptop from a bag and sitting down on the floor beside Sora, "Guess we'll have to do this the hard way." 

While Renji and Sora began pulling out wires and cords, Natsuki stared at the screen.

Something only Okaha would know. Something he would use as the key. Something... 

_Blood slipping down the corners of his lips._

_Tears in his golden eyes._

_"I... I just wanted..."_

_It had to be something he wanted. Something he aspired to be. Or more likely, _someone_ , he aspired to be. _

__

"Try Reaper," Natsuki said abruptly. Renji and Sora stopped what they were doing. "Uh... Natsuki-chan, I don't think this is a good idea," Misuki said, sounding rational even to Natsuki for once. 

__

Sora nodded, "Misuki-chan is right. We only have one attempt left and we don't know what would happen if we get it wrong." 

__

"Yeah, the password could be anything from random letters and numbers," Renji added, "It'll be risky. There's no harm in taking the safe route anyway." 

__

Natsuki glanced at Mikado. She could almost see the gears turning in his head. "How long would it take you to bypass it?" Mikado asked. 

__

Sora rubbed the back of his neck and glanced at Renji, "Just so you know, we're pretty much armatures at this. So between the two of us, and depending on how complex the password is, it'll probably take anywhere between two days to... two weeks? Since it's only a six pin it wouldn't take that long." 

__

Mikado chewed his lip, "Try Reaper," he said after a long pause. "But Mikado-kun..." Renji protested. 

__

"It's my laptop anyway," Mikado said. 

__

"That's not the point," Sora said, "We could lose everything on this thing." 

__

"Just give it a try," Mikado said, "I have a feeling about this one." 

__

"Of course you do," Sora sighed, "Just so you know if this thing self-destructs it's not my fault," he said, entering the letters. He hesitated a second before tapping the enter key. 

__

Natsuki held her breath. A split second passed and the screen went blank. Natsuki closed her eyes and she heard Sora groaned, "I told-" he started but Misuki cut him off, "Just look at the damn screen four eyes!" she said. Natsuki's eyes snapped open, and a line of codes in green appeared on the top screen. Followed by another, and another, till the whole screen was filled with the emerald coloured digits. 

__

"We're in!" Renji said, the disbelief was apparent in his voice, "Natsuki-chan you were right!" 

__

Sora shoved his glasses up his nose, his pale blue eyes skimming across the incomprehensible lines on the screen. "What good does it do? It's coded," he said. "You guys recognize any of this?" Sora asked, shoving the laptop over to Renji and Misuki. 

__

Renji squinted at the screen. He was silent for a long moment, then he whistled, "That's really some top notch coding," Renji said, handing over the laptop of Misuki. 

__

"Don't you think it sort of looks like basic programming?" Misuki asked, scowling at the screen and tilting her head to the side, "But it makes no sense at all." 

__

Sora let out a heavy sighed, "This might take a while." 

__


	23. White Carnations and Purple Hyacinths Time

They spent the entire day staring at the screen. Well the three of them did. Natsuki ended up feeling useless and watching from the sidelines with Mikado. 

While she knew the basics about computers thanks to the tech crew in the ministry, what her classmates were decoding was completely out of her league. Her particular skill set was focused purely on assassination. She could pick a high tech lock to a door, and track down her targets via the web but that was about it. 

At least she wasn't alone. Mikado looked just as clueless as she was. He finally gave up trying to help when Misuki waved him off and told him to do something less annoying. He ended up sitting beside her all day, burning through her father's collection of combat technique books. 

The other three seemed pretty focus on their work, stoping only once for lunch. But by the time the sun began to set, Renji threw his hands up in frustration and collapsed down on the couch, "I give up!" He announced, "None if this makes any sense," he said, running a hand through his hair angrily.

Sora was still typing away wordlessly on his laptop, the light of the screen reflecting off his glassrs. Misuki got up too, "Renji-kun's right," she said with a sigh, "Maybe we should ask Farlan-kun, he might know something." 

Renji shook his head, "If even Sora-kun can't crack it, I doubt Farlan-kun can," he said, he caught the look on Misuki's face and added quickly, "Not that I'm looking down on him or anything." 

"Where is Farlan-kun?" Mikado asked, closing his book and rubbing his eyes, "Though you invited him over too?" He asked Misuki. 

"Uh..." Misuki looked suddenly uncomfortable, "He didn't want to come." 

Natsuki felt her heart stop in her chest. Mikado's eyes narrowed, "Why?" He asked. Natsuki knew the answer before Misuki said anything. 

The assistant class rep exchanged a look with Renji, "You know... after last night..." She trailed off and Renji said, "Let's just say not all of them left because their parents dragged them back," he said. 

At least half the class had left. Natsuki felt her heart sink. 

Misuki jabbed an elbow into Renji's side. "Hey, but some of us were genuinely dragged back," she said, "Right Sora-kun?" 

Sora didn't answer, muttering to himself as he typed on his computer. Misuki sighed, "Sora-kun, I think you should stop," she said, "We've been going around in circles. That thing's impossible." 

Sora leaned back and crossed his arms, "We're missing something," he said finally glancing up, "I know we are, I just can't figure out what." 

Mikado checked his watch, and froze, "Uh, Natsuki-chan, what time did you say your parents were coming back?" Natsuki glanced at the clock and her heart skipped a beat. 

5:58 p.m.

"Anytime now," she said. "Okay, we got to go," Renji said, shutting down his computer and pulling out cords. Sora hesitated before sighing and doing the same. "Mind if I keep this Mikado-kun?" He asked, holding up the flash drive, "I'm sure I can crack it eventually, just probably not in this whole week." 

Mikado shrugged, "Keep it," he said, "Just call us over when you do crack it." Sora nodded and shoved the flash drive into his pocket. 

They packed up their things and left in a hurry, Misuki shouting her goodbyes the entire way and leaving Natsuki alone with Mikado. Natsuki frowned at him from the doorway, "Shouldn't you be leaving too?" She asked closing the door. 

Mikado was replacing the book he was reading back on the bookshelf. "What do think?" He asked. Natsuki frowned, "About what?" 

Mikado walked towards her and crossed his arms, "About this whole situation," he said. Natsuki glanced up at him eyes narrowed, "The real question is what are you thinking." 

Mikado crossed his arms leaned against the wall, he was quiet for a moment. "Don't you think it's too easy?" He said finally. Natsuki frowned, "What are you talking about?" 

"Think about it, the six pin password was way too easy to guess and Sora's pretty confident he can crack he code even though he's not a pro."

Now that he mentioned it... 

Mikado sighed, "Maybe I'm just over thinking it," he said, racking a hand through his hair. "Anyway I should go," he said pushing himself off the wall, "I haven't finished any homework at all." He grabbed his laptop and shouldered his backpack but before he could leave they heard the sound of the front door being unlocked. 

Mikado froze and Natsuki shoved him towards the balcony, "Get out," she hissed. "Seriously?" Mikado exclaimed as he stumbled outside and climed over the rails, "Though you said I could use the elevator?" 

"If you feel like being murdered by my dad be my guest," Natsuki snapped. Mikado smirked, "Fine," he said dangling over the deadly drop with only one hand gripping the rails, "See you tomorrow," he said. 

"Natsuki?" 

Natsuki whirled around and saw her mother frowning at her from the sliding doors, "What are you do out here?" She asked. "I..." Natsuki glanced over her shoulder, but Mikado was already gone. 

Natsuki smirked and turned back to her mother, "Just getting some fresh air," she said easily, "So how did everything in the office go?" 

* * *

_His grip on her hand was slipping._

_Mikado gritted his teeth, glancing down at the deadly fall and the girl who held on to his hand as if it were her lifeline. The wind tore at her uniform and her golden blond hair. Her frightened magenta eyes stared up into his dark ones._

_There was such fear in her eyes._

_"Mikado-kun..."_

_"Don't let go," Mikado shouted, as he strained to pull the both of them up, "Please. Just hand on!" Her nails dug into his hand, hard enough to draw blood but still he held on, his muscles burning against the weight._

_"I'm sorry, Mikado-kun..."_

_Her fingernails dug deeper into his skin and he yelled, his grip loosening involuntarily. "No!" Her nails racked down his hand, leaving a trail of blood. He would never forget the look on her face as she fell to her death for as long as he lived._

_"HIKARI!"_

* * * 

Mikado woke up to the sound of arguing. He reached up a hand to his face, and found that cheeks were wet with tears. He lowered his hand and closed his eyes. He had almost forgotten. 

Today was the day. 

He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He made his way to the bathroom and got dressed slowly, tugging on his uniform and fixing his hair. He grabbed his bag and walked out the room and was greeted by his parents shouting at each other.

Hayato was sitting in a corner of the dining table, his shoulder hunched and head bowed as he at his breakfast, looking as if he were trying to look as insignificant as possible. 

"Morning, Hayato," Mikado said, ruffling his brother's hair with a smile as he sat down beside him, pointedly ignoring his parents in the living room. No that it mattered, they didn't pay him any heed anyway. 

"Nii-san," Hayato greeted, his eyes darting towards their parents before quickly looking back down at his food. Mikado poured himself some tea and eyed his parents stonily. 

"You know, if you're done arguing, the food is getting cold," he drawled, taking a sip from his tea. 

"You better stay out of this," his father snapped, "Just eat your goddamn breakfast. I'll deal with you later." Mikado gritted his teeth. "Nii-san..." Hayato tugged at his sleeve before he could move to stand up. He glanced down at him and his brother shook his head. 

"Tch," Mikado sat back down and grabbed his chopsticks. They finished their breakfast in a hurry. By the time Mikado had cleared away the plates, his mother had already left the house in tears. He didn't make a move to go after her.

He grabbed his bag and handed Hayato his. "We're leaving," he called, stalking towards the door with his brother at his heels. 

"Mikado!" 

Mikado froze, he tensed. "Wait for me outside, Hayato," he said softly. Hayato eyed him with frightened dark eyes, "But Nii-san..." 

"Do as you are told," Mikado said, more sharply than he had intended. Hayato flinched, but hurried outside. Mikado turned to face his father, "Otousan," he muttered. 

His father walked closer and he braced himself. He still wasn't prepared for the slap that connected with his face. Mikado flinched, his head whipping to the side. He gasped. His cheek stung but he refused to touch it. He didn't back down. 

"What was that for?" He asked quietly, looking up to the dark haired man that towered over him, staring unflinchingly at those dark eyes were colder than his own.

"You tell me," his father growled, shoving a crumpled piece of paper into his chest. Mikado glanced down and saw that it was a letter from the school.

"You've been skipping classes again haven't you?" 

Mikado said nothing, keeping his expression carefully blank as he read the letter over. 

"You think I don't have enough to deal with?" His father snarled, "I don't have time for this."

Mikado remained quiet, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the floor. 

"You better pull yourself together Mikado. I want you out of that damn F Class by midterms. Do you understand?" 

Mikado nodded stiffly. 

"If I catch you skipping again don't even think about coming back home." 

Mikado nodded again. 

"Get out." 

He didn't need to be told twice. He turned to leave but his father said, "Your kendo competition is tomorrow, correct?" 

Mikado froze. He didn't dare turn around. "Yes," he replied. 

"Make sure you win." 

Mikado clenched his jaw, his grip tightening on the straps of his bag till the rough fabric dug into his palms, "Yes, sir."

* * *

"Nii-san," Hayato glanced up at him, "Are you sure you're alright?" He asked again. 

Mikado smiled even though it made his face hurt, "I'm fine," he assured him, "The old man can't do much to me anymore," he said. Hayato looked unconvinced. Mikado rolled his eyes, "I'm fine. Seriously," he said. He jerked his chin towards his brother's school, "Go on, you'll be late." 

Hayato chewed his lips, "What about you? Where are you going?" He asked. 

Mikado frowned, "To school obviously," he said. 

"But you don't usually take this route with me," Hayato said, "You're definitely going somewhere else." 

Mikado smirked, "Smart kid," he said, ruffling his hair, "I'm just going to visit a friend alright? Now go. I'll see you at home." 

Hayato hesitated before sighing, "Okay," he said "Bye, Nii-san." He ran into the school gates, smiling and greeting his friends along the way. 

Mikado checked his watch. It was 7:00 a.m., he was definitely going to be late for school. He reached up a hand to touch his sore face. "Tch," he shoved his hands into his pockets and made his way to the nearest bus station. 

He bought a bunch of white carnations and purple hyacinths from the roadside and took a twenty minute bus ride to the outskirts of the city. 

Mikado got off from the bus walked the rest of the way the graveyard. He found his way to the familiar grave, and gazed down at the smooth block of grey stone. Thankfully no one else was there. Most of his schoolmates would probably only come after classes ended. 

"Hey, Hikari," he said softly, kneeling down and replacing the dead flowers with the ones he bought. "Sorry I waited so long to come visit," he said, "You must be angry at me."

He finished arranging the flowers and sat down on his heels, "I doesn't feel like a year has passed at all," he said, "But I have so much to tell you." 

Mikado sighed, "You were right. The F Class wasn't as bad as I thought it was, and the students were way better than some of our classmates," he chuckled, "And I met this girl, she's... incredible. I think you two would have gotten along." 

He glanced up the the gravestone, "I really wish..." he trailed off and chuckled, "I forgot, no more wishing." He sighed closing his eyes and smiling a little even as his heart clenched. 

"I really miss you, Hikari." 

* * *

_"Hello!"_

_He glanced up and nearly leapt of his skin when he saw the unfamiliar girl sitting on his desk. "Uh... Hi?" He didn't know what else to say._

_The girl's long golden hair was tied up in a ponytail and her bright magenta eyes glinted with amusement at his uncomfortableness. Her lips curved into a smile, "My name's Hikari, I'm new here. What's your name?"_

_Mikado blinked at the sudden introduction. "I'm Mikado," he said._

_"Mikado-kun," the girl smiled. Mikado was certain he had never seen a more brilliant smile. "All the girls over there say you're pretty cute but you're never interested in anyone," she said, "So want to go to the year-end dance with me?"_

_"Uh..." Mikado glanced around her and saw a few of his female classmates giggling in a corner. His eyebrows nitted together, "It's only June," he said, his mind scrambling for an excuse to decline her offer, "And I can't dance."_

_"That's okay! I'll teach you," Hikari promised. "So I take that as a yes?"_

_"What? I-"_

_"Great!" Hikari smiled brightly, and skipped away, "See you around Mikado-kun!" She said cheerfully, leaving Mikado staring after her in complete bewilderment._

* * *

Natsuki found Mikado in the gym, practicing kendo after classes as usual. 

Throughout the entire day, he had been a good deal moodier than normal. No, that wasn't right. He seemed like a completely different person from last night. He had stayed in class the entire time, but he seemed disinterested in everything. He hadn't made a move to talk to any of them. He didn't even ask Sora about how the decoding was going. 

Natsuki tried talking to him too, but whatever conversation she started were met with short answers and dead ends. She eventually gave up around noon and left him alone.

Natsuki set on the bleachers, watching as he went through his forms, stabbing his wooden blade through invisible targets, his movements strong and graceful. But he was tense, he made mistakes more than once and Natsuki could tell there was more force behind his every strike than it was necessary. 

He was angry all alright. 

Natsuki glanced to the side and saw his spare swords leaning against the wall. She smiled and stood up. 

* * *

"Oi! Mikado!" 

Mikado paused when he heard the familiar voice. He turned and saw a sword racing for his face. His eyes widened and he raised his blade on instinct, blocking the strike. 

"Natsuki?" 

Natsuki smirked and shoved his sword away with her own, turning to strike his unguarded side. Mikado blocked, his arms straining to keep his sword in position. 

She was a _lot_ stronger than she looked. 

"What are you doing?" He hissed, "You could have decapitated me," he accused. 

Natsuki shrugged, looking unconcerned. "Talking doesn't seem to work, so maybe I can beat it out of you." 

Mikado's eyes narrowed, and his lips curled into a smirk despite himself, "Do you really think you can beat me?" He asked. 

Natsuki raised an eyebrow in challenge, "I don't see why not." 

Mikado's grin widened, "You might be better in me in everything else," he said softly, "But swords are my specialty." 

Natsuki snorted, "We'll see," she said. 

Mikado grinned and shoved her blade away, retreating a few steps. Natsuki darted back and straightened, "What's bothering you?" She asked. Mikado held his sword in both hands and positioned his blade at ready, "Beat me and I'll tell you," he said. 

Natsuki clicked her tongue, "You're going to regret making that deal," she said with a coy smile. Before Mikado could reply, she lunged forward. 

He barely managed to block her strike. She was fast. Half a minute into the fight at it was clear that she was faster than anyone he had ever gone up against, possibility stronger too. He blocked her next strike and countered with his own. 

Natsuki smirked, deflected his blade without so much as blinking. She darted away and swung her blade low, he leapt to avoid breaking his legs. He was still in mid air when she struck him again. 

Throughout the fight he kept firmly on the defensive, not that that Natsuki had given much of a choice. Normally even his most aggressive opponents would tire eventually but it wasn't the case with Natsuki. She didn't show any signs of slowing down and her attacks only grew more vicious as the fight dragged on. So far he was holding his own, but not if this kept up.

"Oi Mikado, are you going easy on me?" She asked. "You're representing the district in tomorrow's completion aren't you? Is this really all you've got?" Her distracting blue eyes were glowing with amusement.

Mikado couldn't help thinking how beautiful she looked then, and how she would probably be the death of him. It was obvious that she was taunting him on purpose, hoping to trip him up. Mikado smirked, two can play that game. "Nice try," he growled, "But I've got tricks of my own." 

Natsuki smirked, "Like what?" She asked. 

"Like this." Their blades clashed and Mikado grinned, leaning closer until their faces were barely an inch apart. He watched as Natsuki's smile faded. "Mikado, what are you-" 

Mikado hooked his foot around her leg and yanked. Natsuki yelped and went sprawling, her wooden sword falling to the ground with a clatter. "Mikado Takahashi!" She yelled in outrage. She moved to stand but Mikado had his blade at her throat. 

He grinned, "I win," he said. 

Natsuki batted his blade aside, "That wasn't fair," she said. Mikado laughed, eyeing her fondly, "Nothing is fair in assassination," he said, offering her a hand, "Your very own words if I remember correctly."

Natsuki sighed, she hesitated before taking his hand, "You've got me there," she admitted, as he helped her up. 

"Well looks like I don't have to tell you anything," Mikado said, smiling as he picked up the discarded sword. 

"Are you serious?" Natsuki demanded, rolling her shoulder and rubbing her neck. Mikado smirked, picking up his towel and drapped it over his shoulder before grabbing his sparing swords. "Thanks for the fight," he drawled, "Better luck next time, Natsuki," he said offering her a two finger salute before leaving the gym. 

"Oi! Come back here! Mikado Takahashi!" 

Mikado smirked, strolling idly down the school hallways, feeling a good deal better than he had been the entire day. 

Maybe today wasn't such a bad day after all.


	24. White Carnations and Purple Hyacinths Time (Part II)

_"Say, Mikado-kun, do you ever wonder if there's an afterlife?"_

_Mikado glanced up and saw Hikari gazing up towards the clear blue sky from where she sat on the grass, the sunlight turning her hair a brilliant gold. Mikado averted his gaze and glanced down at the yellowing leaf in his hands._

_"I don't know," he said, turning the leaf in his hands, "I don't usually think too much about it," he said, "Why do you ask?" He asked glancing at her._

_Hikari beamed, "I think it'll be nice if we could see the people we love again," she said, looking at him, "Don't you think so too, Mikado-kun?"_

* * *

Mikado sat alone in his room, tapping his pen against his desk. He should he sleeping. He definitely needed the rest for tomorrow's fight, but he wasn't the slightest bit tired. 

He took out his phone and hesitated before tapping the icon that lead to his gallery. He scrolled through the few photos he had and eventually found the one he was looking for. 

He used to have a few more, but he had gotten rid of all of them after she had died. All except one. 

In the picture, she was smiling, her bright eyes shining. He couldn't even remember what she had been glad about. She looked happy in the picture, she looked so alive. He brushed a finger across her face. 

He was such an idiot. 

He had known her for barely a couple of months and it had already been a year since she had been gone. She would hate to see him like this. He sighed, "Sorry, Hikari," he murmured. 

Maybe it was time to move on. 

His fingers hovered over the delete icon for a long moment. He turned off his phone instead and threw it aside. He scrubbed his hands down his face. 

He still couldn't do it. 

He closed his eyes, listening to the muffled sounds of his parents arguing again outside. He heard a tentative knock on the door. Mikado sighed and got up, "Hang on a sec," he called, walking over to the door and unlocking it. 

A flash of dark hair darted pass him, and the next second Hayato was sitting on his bed. Mikado raised an eyebrow, but he closed the door behind him and locked it. 

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" He asked. 

Hayato wrapped his arms around his knees, "They're too noisy," he said. "Can I sleep here?" Mikado sat down at his desk, "Of course," he said and Hayato brightened instantly. He made himself comfortable on the bed, and stared up at the ceiling. 

There was a long silence after that, but Mikado could tell his brother was debating whether or not to speak. He smirked and waited. 

"Nii-san?" 

"Yes?" He asked, crossing his arms. 

"I forgot. Today's the day Hikari ne-san's..." He trailed off when he saw Mikado's expression darken. He lowered his gaze, "I'm sorry," he mumbled. 

Mikado shook his head, "Don't be," he said. His throat felt dry. "It's already been a year, I'm over it." 

Hayato eyed him suspiciously, "Really?" He looked unconvinced.

Mikado nodded, "Really," he said, "Now go to sleep."

Hayato's lips twitched into a scowl worthy of Mikado, and sighed, "Okay." He turned to face the wall and was soon sound asleep. 

Mikado glanced at his phone, discarded in a corner of his desk. He picked it up and turned it on. The image reappeared on his screen and he huffed out a breath, turning it off again. "You must be so disappointed in me," he mumbled, his fingers brushing over the faint scars on his hand. 

At that moment he heard a tapping sound on his window. He frowned, getting up and drawing his blinds. He felt his jaw fall open. A corner of his eye twitched, "Natsuki?" 

The said, dark haired girl was standing outside his window. No, not standing, she had nothing to stand on. More like she was hanging outside his window. He unlatched it and opened the window. 

"What the heck are you doing?" He hissed, keeping his voice low and praying he wouldn't wake Hayato. 

Natsuki's eyes glinted, "You think you're the only one who can climb buildings?" She asked, sitting on his windowsill, "I'm just returning the favor." Her eyes wandered around his room and landed on Hayato. Her eyebrows drew together, "Am I seeing things or is there a miniature you on your bed?" 

"That's my brother, Hayato," he said impatiently. 

Natsuki's eyebrows shot up, "So that's Hayato-kun. Cute," she said, "He looks exactly like you its kind of creepy." 

Mikado snorted, "You should see us with our father." 

Natsuki's eyes flicked towards him. She was quiet for a long moment. "What?" Mikado demanded.

"Who's disappointed in you this time?" She asked. Mikado stared at her for a moment, "Look at the time," he said and moved to close the window, "I have a competition tomorrow, so you should leave." 

Natsuki slammed a hand against the windowpane, stopping him, "Hold it. You think I'm going to let you off after how you cheated in our little match?" 

Mikado let out an exasperated sigh, "I thought we agreed that wasn't cheating," he said, "Besides, I'm sure you would have done the same." He smirked, "Am I wrong?" 

"You-" 

"What are you doing here, Natsuki?" He asked, cutting her off before she could give him an earful. 

Natsuki scowled at him, "I was going to ask you to go for a freerun with me," she said, "But since you're so desperate to get some rest, I'll see you tomorrow then." With that she leapt off the windowsill. 

"Oi, Natsuki!" Mikado lunged for the window. He stuck his head out and glanced around, but she was no where in sight. 

"What now?" 

Mikado glance to the side and saw her standing on a ledge beside his window, leaning her back against the wall with her arms crossed. Mikado glared at her, "You gave me a heart attack," he snapped. Natsuki smirked, "So you do care."

Mikado gave her a flat look. He glanced back at Hayato, who had somehow remained asleep despite all the noise, "I'll come," he said, "Where to?"

Natsuki grinned, "Anywhere you like." 

* * * 

"Keep up, Takahashi!" 

Mikado hid a smirk as he vaulted over a stray pipe, and lunged towards the next roof. "You better watch where you're going!" He called, as they bounded across the rooftops of Tokyo's suburbs. 

Natsuki was bounding ahead, leaping from rooftop to rooftop with near silent footsteps, her long dark hair whipping out in the wind. Shadows danced along her lithe frame and she ran as if the very winds were pushing at her heels.

Like a dark wraith in the night. 

Mikado nearly missed his next landing. Natsuki glanced back at him long enough to shoot him a wry smirk, " _You_ better keep your eyes on the ground. 

Mikado snorted and looked away. They ran and ran till Mikado barely recognized their surroundings. He didn't care. He had done this a thousand times before, yet this time was different. As he ran with Natsuki at his side, he felt free. Alive and free.

But for the first time he wasn't alone. 

He glanced at his side, and saw that his smile was mirrored of Natsuki's lips. There was a trill of exhilaration in her eyes that matched his own, and a wildness in her smile. 

They ran until they couldn't run any further. Somehow they had ended up in an unfamiliar neighbourhood. It was already near midnight then, and all was quiet. 

Mikado's lungs were burning by the time they stopped. He doubled over, and tried to get as much oxygen as he could back into his lungs. At least Natsuki looked just as exhausted as he felt. 

"Not bad," she said, once she had caught her breath, "Congratulations, you're officially the first person who can keep up with me." 

Mikado scowled at her and straightened. "Where on earth are we?" He muttered, glancing around at their surroundings. They stood on the roof of a two story house, one of the many similar houses spread out before them. 

"Who knows," Natsuki said, sitting down with a groan and swinging her legs off the edge of the roof. She glanced back at him with a wolfish smile, "Are you going to tell me what's bothering you now?" 

Mikado snorted and sat down beside her. He leaned back against the roof and crossed his arms behind his head, tilting his face upwards to look at the night sky. 

He knew from the second she appeared at his window that this was bound to come up one way or another. 

He closed his eyes. There was a long silence before he began speaking, "During our second year, I knew this girl," he said. He hesitated a long moment, "Today was the day she died." 

Natsuki didn't say anything, so he continued, "She was a transfer student, like you. She was... the kindest person I ever met, always smiling, always trying her best to help others." 

"Were the two of you...?" 

Mikado huffed out a breath, thinking back to the fleeting months he had known her, "We were friends," he said flatly, "That was all there was to it." 

He had never been into this sort of thing. Whether they could have been anything more he would never get to know. The scars on his hand felt painfully obvious. 

"I don't know why, but she approached me and started talking to me one day. We got along well so we ended up hanging around each other a lot." 

Something in his chest clenched tightly. She had been so easy to talk to. A half faded memory of her smile flashed across the back of his mind, and Mikado shoved the image away. 

"Then one day, someone started spreading rumours about her." Till this day he didn't know who had started it, and he doubted anyone else did. Thinking about it now, he wasn't sure if there had been anyone to blame at all. 

"Somehow the blame was put on me. She confronted me on the roof of the school, where we usually met up after school." He felt throat closed up and he forced himself to take a deep breath, "We argued, I can't remember how it happened, but she slipped. I caught her, but I ended up falling over the edge too." 

"I tried to save the both of us. I really, really tried, but she scratched my hand and forced me to let go." 

He wasn't sure why she had done it. He could have pulled them up, he was sure he could. 

Mikado opened his eyes, and stared up at the star flecked sky, "I couldn't save her," he said dully, "Only the A Class stayed behind for extra lessons that day. They saw everything that happened, and obviously the news spread."

At least the F Class was somewhat unaware of the matter, either that or his current classmates didn't care. 

"Some of them thought it was suicide. But most of them thought, and still think, I let her go on purpose," he chuckled without humour, "Her family didn't press charges, but the school held me on account for the accident," he sighed, "And before I knew it I ended up in the F-Class." 

There was a heavy silence after his words. "I'm so sorry, Mikado," Natsuki said finally. Mikado flicked his gaze towards her and saw her watching him, with an unreadable expression. 

Mikado returned his gaze to the sky, "It was a long time ago. It does bother me that much anymore," he said lying through his teeth. 

Sometimes he wondered how different things would have been. If he hadn't fought with her. If they hadn't chosen to meet on the roof. If she hadn't met him at all. 

If he had been strong enough to protect her. 

Those thoughts had drove him crazy the days following her death. He stopped thinking about them half a year later, but occasionally they would unconsciously creep into the back of his mind like some ignore pet. 

He hated them. He wanted to move on. 

Desperate to change the subject he said, "Believe it or not, that's only half the reason I've been acting like a jerk today." 

Natsuki's eyebrow's flicked up, "So you admit you were being a jerk," she said, with a faint smirk, "What can be worst than all that?" 

Mikado sat up, "My parents," he said grimly. Natsuki's eyebrows drew together, "You're parents?"

"Yeah, you heard them just now, didn't you?" He clenched his jaw, "They're always fighting and screaming at each. I don't even know why they hate each other that much. I just want them to leave me and Hayato in peace." 

"Mikado..." 

Natsuki trailed off and Mikado shook his head, "I'm going to leave one day," he vowed, "I'm going to join the military once I graduate. Then I won't have to worry about them." He glanced at Natsuki, with a wry smile, "Maybe I'll join the Ministry of Defense," he said, "Then we can be co-workers." 

Natsuki snorted, "Think its that easy?" She asked, "Landing a job in the Ministry's harder than you think. They're ridiculously selective with their recruits." 

So he had heard. Mikado smirked, "I'm sure I'll make it in," he said with enough false confidence to make Natsuki rolled her eyes, "Of course you are."

"What about your parents?" He asked, genuinely curious, "Do they get along?" 

"My parents?" Natsuki made a face, "My mother's still head over heels in love with my blockhead of a father, and my father... I think he's still wondering what the hell was wrong with him when he made the decision to marry her." 

Mikado laughed, though he wasn't surprised. A ministry agent and an assassin. It was as unlikely as it gets. 

"They quarrel over everything and anything..." Natsuki said, "But you can tell they still love each other." 

Mikado chuckled, leaned back against his hands. His smile faded. "I wish my parents were like that," he said softly. "I'd like that for myself too one day," he added after a moment's pause. He stiffened before relaxing when he felt Natsuki leaning against shoulder, "I think... I'd like that too." 

Mikado felt a small smile curling at his lips. He didn't know how long they sat there, on the rooftops, just watching the stars and the silent neighborhood.

"Come on," he said finally, standing up, "I'll race you back." 

Natsuki smirked, standing up as well, "That's a race you're going to lose." 

Mikado returned her smirk. He leaned down and brushed his lips against her ear, "I wouldn't be so confident about that." He pulled away and saw the assassin's cheeks stained pink. He grinned, and took the distraction as an opportunity to get a head start, leaping off the roof. 

"Oi! Mikado Takahashi!" 

He laughed as she yelled after him. He glanced back and saw her bounding over the rooftops to join him, shouting threats the entire way. He grinned as they ran across the roofs, two silent silhouettes in the night, nothing but a pair of shadows. Mikado smiled, and saw an answering smile on Natsuki's lips. 

* * *

Mikado opened his window, wincing a little as the hinges let out a soft squeak. He climbed back into his dark room as silently as he could, and froze when he saw Hayato sitting cross legged on his bed. 

He really didn't like the wide smile on his brother's face. 

"What?" He asked defensively. 

Hayato's grin only widened, "Where have you been?" He asked, dragging the last word long enough to make Mikado scowl. 

"Out," he said, "I needed to clear my head." It wasn't exactly a lie. "Go back to sleep." 

Hayato smirked, "Right," he said once dragging his words, "Well, I like her," he said happily and went back to sleep before Mikado could say anything else. Mikado shook his head, chuckling softly and got changed. 

It was half an hour past midnight when he finally fell asleep to the sound of his brother's soft snores. He dreamt that night, of a familiar girl with raven hair and an unfamiliar boy with a crown of gold shrouded in shadows. 

Come morning he had forgotten all about it. 

* * * 

Mikado woke up to the obnoxiouly loud sound of his phone ringing. Groaning, he rolled over and reached around his bedside table till his fingers found his phone. 

He answered without even looking at the number. "Hello?" He mumbled, his eyes still closed. "Mikado-kun?" A vaguely familiar voice said into his ear, loud enough to make him grimace. 

"Who...?"

"It's Sora," Sora said, his voice trembling with excitement, "Listen, I've got it! I know what we were missing now. I can't believe it took me this long to realize it! This-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Mikado cut him off mid-sentence, "You need to slow down. What exactly are you talking about?"

"The code!" Sora said, "I'm taking about the code you here me? I know how to break it!"


	25. End Game (Part I)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.K.A Why on earth did I include a sport I know nothing about in this. (T_T)

"Hang on, let me get this straight," Misuki said, "You can break the code but you also can't break it?"

The five of them were sitting around Sora's desk, spare Natsuki who actually sitting _on_ his desk. It was still fairly early in the morning, with another forty minutes before the first bell. 

Sora took of his glasses and rubbed his eyes. There were dark circles under them, and he looked so tried, Mikado was starting to wonder if he had slept at all the night before. 

"It can't crack it, because it's a rather unpopular _German-based_ programming language," he said, "It'll take me years to learn it." 

Natsuki scowled, "So you can't decode it at all." 

Sora shook his head, "No," he said. 

"Then why on earth did you call us all at four in the morning?" Misuki asked. 

Sora sighed, rolling the flash drive between his fingers, "Look, I can't decode it, but I know someone who can." 

Renji chewed his lip, "Farlan-kun," he said. Sora nodded, "Give him a day and I'm sure he can crack this easily," he said. He glanced at the sandy haired boy sitting at the back, "The question is whether or not he would do it for us." 

Natsuki pressed her lips together. "I'll convince him," she said finally. The others exchanged looks. "I'm not sure if that's a good idea," Renji said, "Let me talk to him." 

"No," Natsuki said, "I'll do it." She looked Renji in the eye, "Please."

Renji sighed, scratching the back of his head, "You can definitely try," he said, "Just a warning, Farlan-kun's a bit... wary around you right now."

Natsuki nodded, "I know, that's why I have to be the one to talk to him." 

Mikado glanced at her, "I'm sure Natsuki can handle it," he said, standing up and stretching. "I'll leave it to you guys," he grinned, "Now if you guys can excuse me, I have a tournament to win." 

* * *

Natsuki leaned against the doorway leading into the gym and watched as her classmates filed pass her. The German boy was right at the end, as if he had already spotted her a mile away. Farlan avoided her gaze, amd attempted to walk pass, but Natsuki stopped him dead in his tracks with an hand on his arm, "Farlan-kun," she smiled, "Got a moment?"

Farlan swallowed, "Let me go," he said softly, switching to German, "I'm not helping you alright?"

"I just want to talk," Natsuki replied easily, "There's some things I need to explain." 

Farlan's blue eyes darted from her to the door, "The tournament is starting soon," he said, "I don't think-" 

"It will only take a minute," Natsuki said, grabbing his arm tight enough to hurt and dragging him away before he could even protest. 

* * *

Mikado adjusted his headgear with a scowl. He downright hated the damn thing, but rules were rules, and a hit to the head, even with a bamboo stick was sure to hurt like hell. 

He scanned the crowds from where he sat with the other competitors. Of course, his parents weren't around, and Hayato was in school. He spotted his classmates sitting at the far end of the gym in a dejected looking corner. Even from the distance he saw that Natsuki wasn't with them, and neither was Farlan. 

He chuckled, of course she had already dragged him away. 

"Takahashi-kun." 

Mikado felt a hand on his shoulder and tensed. He glanced behind him and his eyes widened, "Sensei!" 

The middle aged man smiled down at him, "Ohaiyo, Takahashi." Mikado leapt to his feet, "I thought you were in Korea," he said. His coach patted his shoulder, "Didn't actually think I would miss the tournament did you?" 

"Sensei..."

The man smiled, "Think you can win this year?" Mikado nodded without hesitation and his master smiled, "You're my best student, Takahashi," he said, gripping his shoulder, "I'm sure you'll make your school proud but make sure you keep your head in the game." 

So he had noticed. 

"Yes sir," Mikado said and his coach nodded. "Good," he said, "You'll be going up against Shibuya's district champion in the first round. You better start warming up." 

Mikado nodded curtly and did as he was told. He grabbed his sword and took the opportunity to inspect his competition. There were altogether sixty-two male competitors this year, all champions from Tokyo's various districts. He would have to win all his five matches to make it to the finals. 

He wasn't too worried about his first match, what he was worried about was the boy who had stolen first place from right under his nose the year before. 

As if simply thinking about him had summoned him, Mikado felt a tap on his shoulder, "Hey! Long time no see, Takahashi-kun." 

Mikado scowled and turned around.

Haruto Suzuki stood before him. Even with the headgear, Mikado saw the familiar grin on his lips. He scowled, "Suzuki-kun," he said. 

Haruto had been Tokyo's previous champion, he also came second during state levels, making him the first runner up in all of Japan. They were the same age, but Haruto stood a good two inches over Mikado. He had a wider frame and a stronger built. His brown hair was pulled back into a short tail at the nape of his neck, and a thin scar ran from his jaw to his cheek. All in all, you had to be either blind or a complete idiot to pick a fight with Haruto. 

It would have saved Mikado a lot of trouble if he was an arrogant jerk like Kaito, but Haruto was a likable person. Mikado only met him during competitions, but he knew him enough to know that Haruto was overly friendly with everyone around him. Even Mikado couldn't find it in himself to dislike him. 

Haruto grinned good naturedly, "Don't look so serious," he said punching Mikado's shoulder, "The tournament hasn't even started yet." He nodded at the board, "Looks like I might meet you again in the final," he said. 

Mikado glanced at the board and saw that indeed they would not meet unless the both of them made it to the end. "Yeah," he said, "Maybe."

"You have the home base advantage this year," Haruto said, "You might actually stand a chance this time." 

Mikado scowled. He took it back, Haruto could be arrogant when he wanted to. He caught the other boy's smile and knew he was just taking a dig at him. "This isn't baseball," he said stonily, "Being in my school makes no difference." 

Haruto shrugged, "Well, don't lose," he said, slapping a hand against his back, "See you in the finals pal," he said with a grin, and went off to talk to some other poor guy. Mikado scowled at his retreating figure. 

His coach was right, he had to get his head in the game. He would worry about the flash drive, Farlan and everything else after the tournament. For now he had to focus on wining the next five matches. 

Mikado cast a final look towards his class, and went to join the other competitors in warming up. 

* * *

Thinking about it now, she probably could have handled it a lot better than she actually did, Natsuki though as she shoved Farlan into the nearest empty room she could find. In this case it was the science laboratory. 

"What... What do you want, Natsuki-chan?" Farlan asked, as Nastuki closed the door behind her. The fear in his voice made her insides twist. She glanced at him, and scowled. He looked so terrified she almost felt sorry for him. 

"Drop the honorifics," she said crossing her arms and leaning against a table, "It doesn't sound good in German." 

Farlan swallowed, "What do you want Natsuki?" He asked. 

"You know what I want," she said, "We need your help decoding flash drive. According to Sora you're the only one who can do it." 

Farlan's lips tugged into a frown, "Misuki told me Mikado found it during the dinner, is that true?" 

There was no point of lying. Natsuki nodded and Farlan shook his head, "I don't believe it," he said, "Why didn't you guys just hand it over to the authorities?" 

"Mikado doesn't trust them," Natsuki said, "He knows what he's doing." 

"Mikado is... he isn't a normal guy," he said, "But no matter how gifted he is he's still just a teen, and so are you!" He let out a shaky breath, "You should just give the flash drive to the people who can actually do something about it." 

"We're not going to do that," Natsuki said.

"What about your dad?" Farlan asked, "He's in the military isn't he? Don't tell me you don't trust him either." 

"I told you we're not giving it over to the government, not until we find out what's on that thing anyway. For all we know it can be nothing at all." 

"And I told you, I'm not going to help," he said. 

"Why?" 

Farlan stared at her, "Why?" He repeated, there was a note of disbelief in his voice, "Natsuki, I was there during that dinner, alright? I saw you shoot a man and act like it was nothing. Do you honestly think I will still want anything to do with you after that?" 

His words felt like a physical blow, but Natsuki clenched her jaw and refused to look away.

"I've seen enough to know what a trained hitman looks like," Farlan said, "And I know you're definitely one." 

Natsuki glared at him, "It's not like I'm going to kill you," she snapped, "Why are you so afraid of me?" 

"I'm afraid because you _can_ kill me," his blue eyes were looking at anything other than her face, "And when it comes down to it, you _would_ kill me." He swallowed, "Tell me, if I had been the one in that... Okaha guy's place, would you have killed me?" 

Natsuki stared at him, "I..." 

"No, not me. What if it was someone you cared about? What if it was Mikado?" Farlan flicked his gaze upwards, and stared straight at her, "Would you have shoot him too?" 

She didn't know. She really didn't know. "I... I can't answer that," she said finally, "I can't make that decision." Farlan looked away but then she said, "I won't have to make that decision." 

Farlan's eyes snapped towards her, his eyebrows drew together, "What...?" 

Natsuki took a step towards him and he took an equal step back. "Listen, Farlan," she said, "Yes, I'm a hitman, if innocent lives are in danger I will kill without hesitation because I was trained to do so." 

"You-" 

"But don't lump me together with mercenaries and assassin who kill for the heck of it. Don't think for a second that I would ever turn my gun on my friends," she said, stalking closer. 

"I would never let myself end up in that situation. I would never hurt my friends," she said, "Ever. I would hurt my friends, not unless they started killing first. In that case, they can't possibly have been my friends." She snorted, glancing at Farlan with hooded eyes, "So unless you're planning mass murder, I think you're safe." 

Farlan was quiet for a long moment, but he wasn't backing away anymore. "Do you mean that?" He asked, "Truly?" 

Natsuki nodded, "I swear I'm telling the truth." 

Farlan stared at her, his eyes searching. Natsuki stared back unflinchingly. The blond headed boy sighed and sat down on a table, "I believe you," he said finally and Natsuki felt a knot loosen in her chest, "Thank you," she said. She meant it. 

"But I still don't think keeping the flash drive from the authorities is a good idea," Farlan said, looking up, "And if it's as easy to crack as Sora thinks it is, it might actually just turn out to be nothing but a complete waste of time." 

"But you'll help us anyway?" 

"I didn't say that," Farlan said quickly. He chewed his lip, "But maybe I'll take a look at it and tell Sora if I find anything interesting." 

Natsuki felt a grin split across her face, "Good enough," she said. 

Farlan held up a finger, "On one condition."

Natsuki's smile faded in an instant, "What condition?" She asked warily. 

"If I can decode it, you guys hand it over to the military or the police or whoever's in charge once you're done with it," Farlan said, "Also, I'll help you guys decode it but that's all I'll be doing, don't go dragging me into anything else." 

Natsuki frowned, "That's two conditions," she said, "But deal." 

Farlan smiled faintly, "Okay," he said, "Can we just go watch Mikado hit people with a stick now?" 

Natsuki smirked, "Sure."

They made their way back to the gym. Thankfully the teachers hadn't noticed their absence. Unsurprisingly the F Class was stationed at the most unstrategic spot, right at the end of the gymnasium, along with the other F Classes. The tournament hard already begun, and they were four matches going on in the five rings.

"Where have you been?" Hana asked as she sat down beside her. 

Natsuki saw Farlan sitting down beside Sora. The two exchanged a few words before getting up and leaving the gym. Natsuki smirked and turned to Hana, "Just talking to Farlan," she said. 

Hana gave her a look but she didn't ask. "Well too bad," she said, nodding towards the empty ring, "You just missed Mikado-kun's first match." 

"How did he do?" 

"He beat the other guy in two minutes flat," Jin said from behind them, before Hana could even reply. "You should have seen it." 

Natsuki glanced over to where the competitors were sitting and spotted Mikado sitting alone on an empty bench. His were eyes following the movements of the competitors in the ring, but his gaze was distant and unseeing. 

She wondered what was on his mind. 

* * *

The five matches were a blur to him. His opponents grew steadily harder to beat the more he advanced. He had some trouble in the fourth round, but apart from that, the others had been easy wins. 

He won his fifth match with a strike to the head and stepped out of the ring once the white flags were raised with the roar of the crowd in his ears. 

One last match. 

He heard applause from the crowd once again, and saw Haruto walking out of the ring with a triumphant smile. 

Of course he would be fighting Haruto again. 

An announcement gave them a fifteen minute break before the final match began. Mikado pulled off his gear, sitting down with a groan. 

"Good job not loosing." 

Mikado scowled as Haruto sat down beside him, taking off his head gear and retying his hair. "Same to you," Mikado mumbled, wiping the sweat of his face with a towel.

"Not meaning it as a threat, but I'm not planning to lose this year," Haruto said, offering him a canned drink. Mikado waved him off and Haruto shrugged, opening it and taking a long drink. 

"Well, I'm not planning to lose again," Mikado said, wiping the back of his neck. Haruto chuckled, "If I remember correctly I beat you pretty easily last year." 

Mikado smirked, "I've improved," he said, "A lot of things have changed since the last time we fought." 

"Yeah," Haruto said, sipping his drink, "Don't need to tell me that, its very obvious." 

Mikado frowned, "What do you mean?" 

Haruto shrugged, "You're different," he said, "And not in a good way," he added. Mikado scowled at him and Haruto raised his hands in surrender, "I just mean you seem a little more... intense," he said, "Or more like someone pissed you off every day since the last time we met." Mikado rolled his eyes, and grabbed his water.

Haruto grinned, "But at least you've definitely improved." 

"How would you know that?" Mikado muttered, uncapping his bottle and taking a drink. 

"See that guy over there?" Haruto pointed at one of the competitors, a boy with insane green hair he recognized his competitor in the fourth round. "Yeah, what about him?" Mikado asked glancing back at Haruto. 

"Do you seriously not recognize him at all?" Haruto asked, "He's one of the newer champions in the game. From what I heard, so far he's never lost a match before, ever. No offense but I seriously thought I would be fighting him instead of you." 

"Jeez, thanks a lot," Mikado muttered, his voice thick with sarcasm. 

At that moment someone called for the other boy. His coach perhaps? Haruto shouted a response and got up, "Anyway, see you in the ring. May the best man win," he said, and walked away. 

"Yeah," Mikado murmured, even though he knew Haruto couldn't hear him, "May the best man win."

He glanced over to his classmates. Sora and Farlan were missing, which probably meant Natsuki succeed in convincing Farlan to help. He spotted her sitting beside Hana and Akira. They made eye contact and Natsuki gave him a thumbs up. Mikado nodded in reply. 

He wondered how Sora and Farlan were doing.

* * *

Before he knew it Mikado was back in the ring. He knelt in the centre of the ring, facing with Haruto. The other boy offering him a fraction of a grin, and his grip on his wooden sword tightened. 

The signal was given and they both stood up. Mikado darted back, putting some distance between the two of them, and saw Haruto doing the same. They circled each other, darting back and forth, but neither of them made a move to strike. 

When it was clear he wasn't going to make the first move, Haruto lunged. Before Mikado could so much as blink, he was close enough to deliver a strike to his side. Mikado blocked, but Haruto was already swing his sword to his other side. Mikado dodged and retreated a few steps. 

He was faster, but Haruto was still a good deal stronger than he was. Haruto was nothing compared to Natsuki, but Mikado didn't need to play fair with Natsuki. He gritted his teeth.

Head. Throat. Torso. Wirsts. 

Strikes that would earn him points. Deadly strikes if their swords were the real deal. Mikado gripped his sword, and smiled. 

He didn't have to beat Haruto. 

He just had to kill him. 

Mikado lunged forward and swung his sword in a wide arc and forcing Haruto to retreat. Whatever the other boy saw in his expression made his eyes widened. They exchanged a few strikes, and Mikado waited. It wasn't until the third minute did he see get his chance. 

Haruto raised his sword to land a blow on his head, but Mikado was faster. He took a step forward and struck. A stab towards the throat. 

There was a shout from one of the referees and three white flags were raised in the air. 

One point. 

One more to win. 

There was a round of cheers from the onlookers. Haruto stepped back, rubbing his neck. He wasn't smiling now. They returned to their positions at the center of the ring. The signal was given and this time, Mikado didn't hesitate to lunge forward.

He caught Haruto my surprise. The other boy stumbled backwards, when Mikado swung his sword, but kept his footing. Haruto retaliated, swinging his sword at Mikado's right side but twisted his blade at the last second, to hit his wrists. 

Mikado blocked, and their bamboo swords let out a loud clack. Haruto glanced up and Mikado grinned. He twisted his sword and swung upwards. Haruto reeled backwards, and Mikado slashed his blade across his torso. 

Just like that the match was over. 

There was a yell from the referee and three white flags hit the air. Haruto looked as stunned as Mikado felt. He had to blink a few times make sure he wasn't dreaming. The roaring crowd brought him back to his senses. 

It hadn't even been five minutes yet. 

The shock in Haruto's expression faded and he broke into a grin. He stepped forward, "Not bad, Takahashi-kun," he said, "When did you get so fast?" He bowed and Mikado hurriedly did the same. 

Haruto walked out of the ring and Mikado followed. The moment he stepped out of the ring he was instantly swarmed. His coach was there and so were his classmates. 

"You won Mikado-kun!" He wasn't sure who had said it, but Mikado smiled. He searched the faces around him and spotted the one he was looking for, standing a few lengths away. Natsuki grinned and Mikado smirked. 

He had won.


	26. End Game (Part II)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early update cause I have no idea if I can update tomorrow. :)

"So what exactly are we looking at?" 

The initial rush from his victory had faded, and Mikado now stood beside Misuki, peering over Farlan and Sora's shoulders to look at the computer screen. 

The six of then were in the computer lab. The second he managed to escape the crowd after the prizes were given out, Renji had grabbed his medal while the Natsuki and Misuki dragged him over without so much of an explaination. 

Farlan didn't so much as look up from the screen at Mikado's question and simply answered him in German. Mikado raised an eyebrow and glanced at Renji and Misuki. Misuki shrugged, looking about as clueless as he was. "He said to give him a second," Natsuki translated. 

Farlan was muttering to himself as he typed on the computer, Mikado caught words that sounded suspiciously like curses in German. 

" _Erledigt!_ " Farlan exclaimed, and hit the enter key. Mikado glanced at the screen and saw the incomprehensible text on the screen rearrange themselves line by line. "There," Farlan said, seeming to finally remember they didn't speak German, "You... Understand?" He asked turning the screen towards Natsuki. 

Natsuki looked it over and Mikado saw her eyes widened, "Yeah, it's all decoded. You're incredible Farlan!" she said. Mikado saw Farlan's face redden and something in him bristled. He wasn't sure why. 

"Look," Natsuki turned the screen so that they would see it too. Mikado squinted at the screen, "What is all that?" He asked, there were more scientific jargons than actually words he knew in there. His gaze wandered to the top of the page, "Antimatter tentacle gene program?" 

"A lot... missing," Farlan explain, "It's... err... _unvollständig_. Only... some in here." 

"It's incomplete," Natsuki translated, "This is only a part of the whole thing." 

"It's instructions," Sora said, scanning the page, and scrolling down, "On how to implant tentacles." He scowled, "That guy at Nagisa-sensei's wedding dinner must have tried it on himself." 

"Unbearable pain if not maintain. Severe mental instability," Mikado mumbled, reading off the screen, "That explains a lot." 

"According to this, its was originally an experiment to create antimatter that was done before," Sora explained, "About seventeen years ago." 

Two years before they were born. 

"Isn't that around the time the moon blew up?" Misuki asked and Sora nodded, "If this information is right, it was because of this experiment." 

"I thought they said it was a huge asteroid hit or something?" 

The others talked and Mikado glanced at Natsuki, who had suddenly gone very quiet. She definitely knew something they didn't. 

"But it says here they altered the experiment, whatever the heavens that means," Sora said, "Instead of trying to create antimatter, they're trying to create biological weapons. They're not just trying to implant tentacles, they're trying to alter human DNA to generate them naturally." 

Mikado sat down, "That sounds like something right out of a movie," he said. If he hadn't seen Okaha's tentacles with his own eyes he might not have believed it at all. 

"This part... _verschlüsselt_ ," Farlan said, scrolling downwards to show them the last page, which was nothing more than a jumble of text that made Mikado's head hurt. "Names... location," Farlan said. 

"It's heavily encrypted," Natsuki explained, "It probably contains the personnel details." 

"I break... maybe two days," Farlan said with a shrug. 

At that second the door to the lab opened with a click making them all jump. Mikado didn't even hear footstep approaching. "What are the six of you doing in here?" 

Mikado turned around, and saw Nagisa standing at the door with a slight frown. "Uh..." Out of the corner of his eye Mikado, saw Misuki yank out the flash drive while Farlan and Sora tried to turn off the computer and keep their things as fast as they could. 

He casually stepped in between them and Nagisa's line of sight and saw the others trying to do the same. "We're doing homework," Mikado said lamely. He saw Renji slap his hand into his face. 

Nagisa's eyes narrowed, "You know you need permission to use the computer room don't you?" 

"Uh..."

Nagisa shook his head with a small smile, and held opened the door, "The school gates are closing soon," he said, "You all should go home." 

"Of couse Nagisa-sensei!" Misuki said loudly, as Sora and Renji finished putting away their things. "We'll be leaving now!" 

They grabbed their bags and filed pass their teacher. Mikado made it five steps away from the door when Nagisa called, "Wait, Mikado-kun." 

Mikado froze. He schooled his features into a neutral expression and and turned around, "What's the matter, sensei?" He asked. 

Nagisa eyed him quietly for a moment, then he smiled, "Congratulations on winning," he said, "I didn't get to tell you that just now." 

Mikado grinned, "Arigatō, sensei," he said, relief washing over him. "See you tomorrow," he said and hurried to catch up with the others. 

* * *

Nagisa watched as Mikado ran to join his classmates. The dark haired boy was smiling one of his rare smiles. Ever since the first day of school Mikado had always kept to himself, Nagisa was just glad he had finally warmed up to his classmates. 

But...

Nagisa glanced back into the computer room, and his gaze wandered over to the computer they had been using. 

Of course, he didn't believe them for a second when Mikado said they were doing homework, but he had decided to let it slide anyway. 

He was already started to regret the decision. Anything with both Mikado and Natsuki involved in couldn't amount to anything good. Something that felt suspiciously like dread crept up his chest. Nagisa closed the door, and walked back to the staffroom. 

For some reason, he couldn't shake the dire feeling that something was about to go terribly, terribly wrong. 

* * *

"I... Keep this?" Farlan asked, holding up the flash drive as they walked out the school gates and onto the streets of Tokyo, "Try to decode the last page," Natsuki said, "Maybe there's something interesting in there." 

Farlan frowned, "Fine," he said, slipping the flash drive into his pocket, " _keine zusagen_ ," he added and Natsuki rolled her eyes. He grinned and walked towards the subway station, "See you guys," he said, waving before he left. 

"What exactly are we supposed to do when Farlan-kun finishes decoding it?" Sora asked once Farlan was gone. 

"Try it out?" Misuki suggested, there was a slight crazed look in her eyes that made everyone else edge away. "You're insane," Sora mumbled. 

"Why?" Misuki asked, a mischievous gleam in her eye, "Worried I'll test it out on you, Sora-kun~?" She leaned towards him and Sora's face grew red, "Get away!" He snapped and hid behind Renji. 

Misuki stuck her tongue out at him. "But seriously though, what exactly do we do with it?" She asked glancing at Mikado. 

"Actually, I promised Farlan-kun we would hand it over to the military after he's finished decoding it," Natsuki said. 

_"What?"_

Renji and Misuki said in union, voicing Mikado's silent thoughts. "Why on earth would you promise him that?" Renji demanded. 

"He wasn't going to help us otherwise," Natsuki said, "And if you think about it, what else were we supposed to do after we found everything out?" 

The others were quiet. "Natsuki-chan's right," Sora said, shoving his glasses up his nose,"It's probably the best course of action. We were just playing around at decoding it anyway." 

"But why on earth did we go through so much if we're just going to hand it over?" Renji whinned, "Does that mean it was all for nothing?" Natsuki shrugged, "Well, you did get to see what was on it," she said, "How many people can claim to have seen evil scientist plans?" 

Renji sighed, "True that," he relented. 

"Aw... But can I at least keep some of it?" Misuki asked. 

"No," Sora and Natsuki said quickly. 

Mikado chuckled and shoved his hands into his pockets. He watched the others argue with Misuki over the flash drive and smiled. Only then did he realize, he had almost forgotten what it was like to have friends. 

They said their goodbyes and parted ways at the next intersection. Mikado headed back to his apartment, Natsuki at his side. 

"So what do we do now?" Natsuki asked. 

Mikado frowned at her, "Go home?" He suggested and Natsuki threw him a look, "You've been quiet the whole time. Are you seriously planning to just hand the flash drive over?" 

Mikado rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm not sure," he admitted, "You were very convincing back then," he said, glancing at her, "Maybe it is best if we hand it over to the military." 

Natsuki's eyebrows shot up, "You are full of surprises aren't you?" 

Mikado shook his head, "I still think there's something definitely off about this whole thing," he said, "But even if it is, I think Farlan-kun is right. It's not like we can do anything about it." He eyed her, "But I think, just to be safe, you should hand it over to one of your parents," he said, "Not anyone else." 

Natsuki was quiet for a long moment, "What about giving it to Nagisa-sensei?" 

Mikado frowned, "Why?" He asked. 

"I have a feeling he'll know what to do with it," Natsuki replied and Mikado's frown deepened. "What are you not telling me?" He asked, "Does it has something to do with Nagisa-sensei and his class of assassins?" 

Her silence was his answer. Mikado edged closer, "Tell me," he said with a sly grin. Natsuki shoved him away, "I'll tell you once you have the military clearance for it," she said, "I like you but not enough to risk being sued by government." She paused, and seem to realize what she just said, "Shit," she muttered under her breath and Mikado smirked. 

"So you do like me," he said, leaning closer. Natsuki quickened her step hastily, "Stay away Takahashi," she warned, and Mikado laughed. 

This day just got better and better. 

"But seriously speaking," Mikado said, jogging to catch up with her, "Nagisa-sensei is probably just going end up giving it to your father anyway. Why not save him the trouble?"

Natsuki sighed, "Fair point," she admitted. They were silent for the rest of the way. By the time they reached Mikado's apartment the sky had already darkened into the darker hues of twilight. To Mikado's surprise, Natsuki followed him through the gates. 

"Uh... Why are you still following me?" He asked as they entered the lobby. 

Natsuki threw him a devious smile, "I don't know," she said, "Maybe I want to meet your parents, you've met mine." 

Mikado scowled at her, "Under bad circumstances," he pointed out, "My parents aren't around anyway." He punched the button at the lift, "And you definitely don't ever want to meet them." 

"I need to borrow your laptop," Natsuki said. Mikado frowned, as they stepped into the lift, "Why?" He asked, punching the button to the tenth floor, "Don't you have your own?" 

Natsuki gave him a look that plainly told him she regarded him as a complete idiot. "I need one that has been connected to the flash drive before," she said as if it explained everything. 

"Okay? But why?" 

"Call it a hunch," she said, "There's something I need to check." 

The doors slid open and they stepped out. "You sure your parents aren't around?" Natsuki asked. Mikado nodded, "They're hardly ever around," he said, as they walked towards his flat at the end of the corridor, "It's just me and Haya..." 

He trailed off when they reached his door. He felt his his heart stop dead in his chest. 

The front door was wide open. 

"Mikado?" 

Mikado barely heard Natsuki as he stumbled into his house, flicking on the lights. The entire place was wrecked. Furniture was overturned, glass was smashed, curtains were torn and the broken remains of various household items littered the floor. 

"Hayato...?" Mikado ran for the the bedrooms, "Hayato!" He yelled. He slammed open the doors to the rooms, and found them all destroyed. There was no sign of his brother. 

No. No. No. NO. NO!!!!

This couldn't be happening. 

His heart was pounding hard in his chest, and there was a strange ringing in his ears. He could barely think straight, as his initial dread turned into panic.

Where was Hayato? 

"Hayato!" Mikado shouted but there was no reply. He tore through the house, but he couldn't find his brother. 

"Mikado, stop!" Mikado felt fingers gripping his arm, tearing through the haze of panic that clouded his mind. He glanced at Natsuki and saw her staring at him with fierce eyes, "He's not here," she said, "So stop it. You need to calm down and think." 

Mikado gritted his teeth, "They took him," he growled, lips curled into a snarl. "I know," Natsuki said calmly, "And we're going to get him back," she said, "But we can't do that until you calm the hell down." 

Mikado glanced at her. 

She was right. Panic wasn't going to get him anywhere. He forced himself to take a deep breath, and even out his ragged breathing. "Sorry," he said through clenched teeth, once he was considerably calmer. 

Natsuki shook her head, looking around the trashed house, "Could be robbers," she said. 

Mikado snorted, "Robbers that don't take anything?" he scoffed, "Yeah right." 

"I was trying to be optimistic," Natsuki snapped right back, "I'm calling my father. You better start calling the cops and your parents," she said, whipping out her phone. 

Mikado clenched his jaw but before he could so much as take out his phone, it started ringing. He pulled it out and glanced at the screen. 

Unknown number. 

He exchanged a glance with Natsuki. He set his phone on speaker and tapped the answer icon harder than it was necessary. 

"Mikado Takahashi?" 

The voice was robotic and distorted, no doubt to hide the caller's identity. 

"Who the hell are you?" Mikado snarled, "Hirayama?" 

"Hirayama-sensei has more important things to attend to. Who I am is none of your concern," the voice said calmly, "I'll keep it simple, you have something that belongs to us." 

Mikado was quiet for a long moment, "I have no idea what you're talking about," he said coldly. 

"You're not fooling anyone Takahashi-san," the voice said, "We know you have Okaha's flash drive. Our terms are simple, return it to us, or you're never seeing your brother again." There was a short pause, "Wait, no, you might see him again, just not like how you remembered him." 

_Okaha's trashing tentacle. The insanity in his golden eyes._

Mikado felt his blood run cold. He gripped his phone, hard enough that it let out a crack, "Don't you dare touch him," he said softly, his voice dangerously low. 

"We wouldn't dream of it," the voice assured him, "As long as you do as you are told. Listen very carefully, Takahashi-san because this is what's going to happen. Is the Karasuma girl with you?" 

Mikado gritted his teeth, "Yes." 

"Good. We have sent you a location. Send the girl over alone with the flash drive, and we'll hand your brother over to her. And of course, not a single word to anyone else or you can say goodbye to your brother. Is that clear?" 

"Clear." 

"Good," the voice said, "We will be expecting her to be here in an hour." 

The line went dead and Mikado lowered his phone. He grabbed the closest item within reach, in this case a small decorative flower pot, and threw it against the wall. 

It shattered into a million pieces and Mikado ran a hand furiously through his hair. He glanced at Natsuki and saw her watching him with her arms crossed, "Are you done yet?" She asked calmly. 

Mikado took a deep breath and nodded. Natsuki pressed her lips together, "Let's see the location." 

Mikado drew the location up on his phone and Natsuki glanced it over before nodding, "I know where it is," she said. 

"Why would they ask to send you?" Mikado asked, staring down at the phone with his teeth tightly clenched. 

"Maybe they have a death wish," Natsuki said, pulling out a pistol from out of nowhere, "They're probably idiots to think I'm just going hand over the flash drive quietly. Send me the location," she said, "I'll go pay those _seronje_ a visit."

Mikado snorted, shoving his phone into his pocket, "Do you honestly think I'm going to let you go alone?" He walked over to the corridor leading to the bedroom and picked up one of his real swords lying discarded on the ground. He set his jaw, "I'm coming with you." 

"They told me to come alone." 

Mikado turned the blade over in his hand, "Like hell I'm doing as they say," he spat, "Hayato's my brother," he glanced at her, "I'm coming," he said firmly, allowing no room for argument. 

Natsuki smirked, "Fine. Don't get in the way," she said, "Let's go."


	27. End Game (Part III)

Renji sighed, "You didn't have to come with me," he said, casting an annoyed look at Misuki as they walked towards Mikado's apartment. 

"Why not?" Misuki asked, "I've never seen Mikado-kun's house. Think he as a collection of swords like kendo fanatic characters in a manga?" 

Renji rolled his eyes as they walked down the corridor, "To think he would forget about this," he said, pulling out the gold medal from his pocket with a sigh, "Let's just get this over with, I'm starving." 

They reached his house and Renji called, "Oi, Mikado-kun, you forgot..." He trailed off when he saw the door open. Frowning he stepped inside, Misuki right behind him. He found a dark haired boy, who he recognized as Mikado's brother, seated on the floor and crying his eyes out in the center of his destroyed living room. 

"Hayato-kun?" Renji hurried over to him and knelt down, "What happened here?" He asked, staring around the the wrecked house, "Where's Mikado-kun?" 

"I don't... know," Hayato said between sobs, "I came home... Late... The house was... already destroyed... Nii-san... Isn't here..." Renji winced a little as Hayato started crying with renewed sobs. 

"Mikado-kun isn't picking up," Misuki said from behind him, "Natsuki-chan isn't either." 

"Call the cops," Renji said, patting Hayato on the back in effort to calm him down, and pulling out his own phone. He called Farlan, it wasn't until the fifth ring did he pick up.

_"Hallo? Wer ist das?"_

"Uh... Farlan-kun, it's Renji," he said. 

"Renji-kun? What problem?" 

"The last page of the flash drive," Renji said, "The one with the location and details. Have you decoded it yet?" 

"No," Farlan said, "Why?" 

"Decode it as fast as you can," Renji said, "And send me all the locations on it." 

Farlan caught the urgency in the tone, "Okay," he said, "What happen?" He asked, "What wrong?" 

Renji shook his head, "They took Mikado-kun, possibly Natsuki-chan as well. I don't have time to explain," he said, "Just send me the locations once you have it." 

There was a short silence, then Farlan simply said, "Okay." 

"Thank you," Renji hung up without another word and dialed another number. 

"The police are on the way," Misuki said, "Who are you calling now?" 

Renji hit the call button and lifted the phone to his ear, his expression grim, "Nagisa-sensei."

* * *

"Are you sure this is the place?" 

Mikado watched as Natsuki checked the map on the phone for the second time. "Very sure," she said. 

After dropping by Natsuki's place to grab a few things, they made their way to one of the parks near their school. Now they stood outside what looked like a small shed. A light above their heads flickered every five seconds, as they stared at the perfectly normal-looking closed door. 

Mikado adjusted his grip on his katana and tried the door. "Locked," she said. Mikado scowled and gestured for her to move. Natsuki stepped out of the way and Mikado slammed his foot into the door. It flew open with a bang on his second try.

A dark stairway leading downwards loomed before them. "Think it leads down to the sewers," Mikado said, wrinkling his nose at the pungent smell that wafted up. 

Natsuki eyed the dimly lit stairway, and pulled out her gun, "Come on." 

They made their way downwards on silent feet. It was quiet, too quiet, with nothing except the sound of water dripping onto the concrete floor. Mikado glanced at Natsuki and saw her staring ahead. Shadows seem to cling to her as they walked, until she was nothing but a pair of glowing eyes he could barely make out in the dim light. 

An assassin cloaked in shadows. 

"How are you doing that?" He asked softly as they reached the bottom of the stairway. 

Natsuki didn't reply and gestured at something ahead. Mikado frowned and looked in the direction she had indicated. The stairs had lead them to a huge sewage tunnel, the water level in the canal beside them low, and the water was a murky shade of greenish brown. 

For a moment Mikado wasn't sure what he was looking at. Then he saw it. 

A barely noticeable gleam of a scope on the other end of the tunnel. Two of them, like twin stars in the dark. One on an overhang and another on the opposite side of the waterway. 

Snipers. 

"Now what?" Mikado asked quietly. Natsuki glanced at him, "How good are you with distractions?" She asked. Mikado frowned. 

* * *

"Hey assholes!"

Mikado stepped out into the light, only to have a warning shot fired his way, missing his right foot by half an inch. He froze. 

"Not an inch closer kid," an accented voice said from somewhere up ahead, probably the sniper on the overhang. A man judging by the sound of his voice, most likely a foreigner. "I'm not missing the next time." 

"Sure," Mikado drawled, "If you'd just point me in the direction of my brother, I'll just grab him and leave." 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Natsuki darting along the edges of the stone wall, swift as the shadows that danced along the walls. If he hadn't known she was there he wouldn't have noticed her at all. 

"I'm telling the truth when I say I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," the sniper replied. His partner on the other side of the canal remained silent. 

Mikado snorted, "Right," he said sarcastically. He pointed his sword in the direction of the voice, "I'm sick of all of this. Where the hell is Hirayama?" He snarled, "Where's Hayato?"

There was a short pause and Mikado saw Natsuki scaling up the wall, close to the overhang where the sniper was hidden. "Listen kid, I don't know who you're talking about," the sniper said, "I don't like hurting kids, but a job is a job, and I don't think your sword can hold up against my gun." 

Mikado smirked, gripping his katana in both hands at ready. "Try me," he said easily, "My coach had be cutting up BB pellets to train my speed and technique." 

"You're crazy," the sniper said, "Just leave and no one gets hurt. Do you seriously think you can stop a bullet with a sword?" 

Mikado smirked, "Nope," he said. 

Natsuki took out the other sniper first. How the hell she could even aim in the dark would remain a mystery to Mikado. He heard a yell a split second after her gun went off. Natsuki didn't miss a beat, there was a sicking sound of bones hitting stone and the sniper on the overhang came tumbling down. He hit the floor with a painful thunk. 

Mikado ran forward. He grabbed the sniper by his blond hair, but the man was already out cold. "Tch," Mikado shoved the man head towards the ground, "Did you have to hit him so hard?" He asked and Natsuki leapt down. 

"It's pretty obvious we're supposed to go in wherever direction they were guarding," she said, shadows retreating from her face. Natsuki knelt down and proded the man's face, "They're probably hired hitmen," she said, "It sounded as if he was telling the truth. I don't think he wanted to hurt you, and I doubt he actually knows where Hayato is." 

Mikado clenched his jaw, "None of this makes sense," he said, "The guy wants the flash drive and told us to meet him here, but he hired hitmen to try and stop us instead." The more he thought about it, the more off it felt. He kicked the man's hand with a foot, "Who hires hitmen to be guard dogs anyway?

He glanced at Natsuki and saw her watching him silently. "What?" He asked, defensively. Natsuki frowned and shook her head, "Just grab whatever's useful and let's go." 

Mikado glanced down at the unconscious man. He had the wild urge to run his blade through him. He cuffed the mad impulse. 

"Fine."

Apart from his sniper rifle and a handgun, the hitman didn't have anything else on him. Mikado grabbed the gun and shoved it into his back pocket, while Natsuki inspected the rifle. Mikado would have been tempted to take it as well if it wasn't so bulky.

"This is a really, really good gun," Natsuki said, "Can we keep it?" Mikado shot her a look and Natsuki sighed, "Fine," she said and reluctantly tossed it into the canal. 

They tied up the man up and left him in a corner before continuing their way down the tunnel. Their surroundings grew steadily brighter as they reached the end of the tunnel, but...

"Dead end," Natsuki said, touching the solid brick wall blocking their way forward. 

"I don't think so," Mikado said, pointing upwards at the door five meters off the ground, "Never understood why they made them that way." Natsuki glanced up at the door and smirked, "Ladies first," she said looking at him. 

Mikado rolled his eyes, he sheathed his sword and took a running leap at the wall. Thankfully the uneven and cracked bricks made the wall easy to climb. He scaled up the wall and tried the door. Surprisingly, he found that it was unlocked. 

He opened the door and stepped inside just as Natsuki scrambled up the wall. The corridor ahead was well lit, a nice change from the dark sewers. The door had lead them to an intersection, the corridors to their front, left and right looked impossible to differentiate. 

"Where the hell are we?" Natsuki said as she walked through the door. 

The words had barely left her lips when Mikado heard the sound of a gun going off. He drew his sword on instinct, just in time to slice a bullet aimed for his head. The shooter, a men dressed in all black hiding around the corner of the corridor up front, looked just as surprised as Mikado was. 

So he could cut stop a bullet with a sword after all. Dumb luck was on his side tonight. 

"Get them!" 

Mikado didn't think twice. He moved, running low, not even bothering to check if Natsuki was following. "Mikado-" the rest of her words were drowned by the sound of gunfire. 

There were three of them at least in the corridor up ahead. There were definitely more, but he was certain Natsuki could take care of the rest.

He got to the first shooter unscratched, a slash from his sword knocked the man's gun aside. The man stumbled back, drawing a knife, but Mikado twisted, slamming a foot into his hand. The man yelled and dropped his knife. 

Head. 

Mikado slashed his sword across the man's head, drawing a line of blood diagonally across his face. The man screamed, staggering away and clutching his face. 

Throat. 

Mikado launched himself at the shooter on the opposite side of the corridor. He stabbed the man in the throat before he could so much as lift his gun. There was a bang ffom behind him and Mikado felt pain spike up his left arm. He snarled and whirled around. 

Torso. 

The man who had shot him collapsed to the ground as he sliced his blade across his middle, deep enough to make him spit blood. Still the man raised his gun. 

Wrists. 

Mikado cut off his hand and the man's ear piercing scream rang through the air. Mikado slammed his foot into the man's back and leaned down. "Where's Hirayama?" He yelled. 

"I don't know!" The dark haired man shouted. 

Mikado didn't hesitate to stabbed his sword straight through the man's remaining hand. The man screamed and Mikado smirked, "I won't ask again," he said coldly. "Where's Hirayama?" 

"I swear I don't know where he is!" The man yelled, "He might be in the control room! Or try his lab! I don't know! I'm just doing my goddamn job." 

Mikado clenched his jaw, "Where?" He growled. 

"Walk straight and take a right and you'll reach his lab. The control room is from the way you came, left corridor." 

"What about Hayato?" Mikado demanded, "Where's my brother?" 

"Who the hell is Hayato?" 

Mikado added pressure onto his sword, and the man shouted, "I swear on my life kid! I don't know who the heck you are and I don't know anyone named Hayato!" 

Mikado's lips curled into a snarl, "Liar." 

"Mikado stop!" 

Natsuki's voice cut through the haze of his blind rage. Mikado glanced up and saw Natsuki staring at him, another two unconscious men in black lying at her feet. The look in her eyes made his heart stop dead in his chest. "What do you think you're doing?" 

"I..." 

Mikado turned back to the man, gasping for breath under his foot. He glanced at his sword, and saw his reflection staring back at him on the flat of bloodstained blade. The bloodlust in his dark eyes made him falter. 

He pulled out his sword and eased off the man's back. The man sighed with relief and closed his eyes. Mikado glanced at Natsuki, "Sorry," he muttered under his breath. 

Natsuki shook her head, "Your arm?" 

He had almost forgotten about that. Mikado yanked up his sleeve, and saw a gash on his bicep. The blood had already dried. "Just a graze," he said dismissively. 

Natsuki nodded, "Good." She glanced down at the man, "Hirayama's either in the control room or the lab, correct?" Mikado nodded in confirmation. 

"Okay," Natsuki tossed him an earpiece, "Then we split up. You take the lab." Mikado caught the earpiece and nodded. "Comm me if you find him, don't engage, alright?"

Mikado gripped his blade, ignoring the sticky still-warm blood on the hilt of his sword that stuck to his hand. "Alright." 

Natsuki eyed him, "Don't do anything stupid," she warned. Mikado smiled a little, "I won't," he promised. The lie came a little too easy. Natsuki raised her gun, "I'll see you." 

With that they took off in opposite directions. Mikado made it two strides before he heard Natsuki calling his name.

"Wait, Mikado." 

He turned and saw her chewing her lip. "I..." she seemed to change her mind mid-sentence and said instead, "Don't die." 

Mikado smiled faintly, "I won't if you don't," he said. Natsuki's lips curled into a smirk, "Deal." Mikado grinned and waved his sword, "See you in a bit," he said, and ran off without another word. 

He wished he had looked back that day.


	28. End Game (Part IV)

"Are all sewers this creepy?" 

"Shut up, Renji-kun!" 

Nagisa sighed, as another argument broke out. On second thought, bringing his whole class on a rescue mission wasn't the best decision he ever made. He glanced back and raised a finger to his lips. His students immediately went silent. 

He had been working his way through their essays when Renji had called him. For someone who couldn't seem to keep still on a normal day, Renji had been oddly calm when he had explained everything. He told him how Mikado had found the flash drive at the wedding reception and how they had managed cracked it with Farlan's help. If it hadn't be such a dire situation Nagisa would have been impressed. 

Renji had asked him to meet them, and Nagisa was out the door before he could finish talking. Of couse Renji and Misuki being themselves, the rest of the class had found out about it and insisted on following. 

There had only been one location on the flash drive. A park near the school, one Nagisa recognized all too well. According to Farlan and Sora it was their best bet. The two boys had stayed back to decode the last of the information on the flash drive, while the rest of the class had shown up at the park. 

The first thing Nagisa had done was to call Karasuma. His former teacher had been understandably livid when he had heard what had happened. He had immediately dispatched a full military squad to their location, but according to him it would take a while for them to get there. 

Nagisa wasn't going to wait, and neither were his students. 

He had left Kinata and Yuki to guard the entrance and wait for the military personnel to arrive, while the rest had followed him down to the canals. 

They reached the bottom of the stairway and Nagisa immediately spotted the man tied up in the corner. He approached cautiously, his class right at his heels. He shone his flashlight in the direction of the man and his eyes widened. 

"Red Eye?" 

Nagisa knelt down and shone the light in the man's face. The hitman was alive but unconscious. There was a nasty bruise on his forehead and a scrape on his cheek. Dirt covered his face and there was dried blood in his beard. No doubt Natsuki and Mikado's work. Nagisa tapped the man's face twice with two fingers, but he remained dead to the world. 

"Who's that?" Jin asked warily, as the rest of the class inched closer. 

"Someone I worked with once," Nagisa said, "He's an assassin, one of the best snipers around once upon time." 

Nagisa untied him and glanced at his class, "I need a few of you grab him and take him upstairs," he ordered, "Call an ambulance."

His students exchanged glances before Hashimaru stepped forward, "I'll go," he said. "I'll go with him," Hiro volunteered. Nagisa nodded and the two boys haulted Red Eye away. 

"Nagisa..."

Nagisa glanced at the assassin and saw his eyes cracking open. Hiro and Hashimaru set him down and Nagisa was at his side in an instant, "Red Eye." 

The assassin pointed towards the opposite side of the canal, "Elias..." He said, "My apprentice..." Nagisa sent a few of his students over and they returned carrying a red haired young man between them. The boy's eyes were closed, and blood from a bullet wound on his chest stained a patch of his grey shirt a dark crimson. 

"Elias!" Red Eye sat up with a groan, and inspected the boy. 

"He's alive," Hiro said, "But his pulse is weak." Nagisa chewed his lips, "Get him outside now," he said. He glanced dowan at Red Eye, "What happened here?" He asked.

Red Eye shook his head and touched his forehead with a wince. "I don't know," he said, "There was some kid with a katana, and a girl I think." 

Mikado and Natsuki. 

"I'm starting to get the feeling Mikado-kun and Natsuki-chan weren't kidnapped," Renji muttered. "You're only realizing that now?" Someone hissed back. 

"Why are you here?" Nagisa asked Red Eye, ignoring his students. 

The hitman sighed, "I got a job," he explained, "We were told to watch the entrance to this canal, and to stop anyone who tried to come in. Thought it was going to be easy first job so I brought Elias along." 

Nagisa frowned, "I suppose you can't tell us who hired you?" 

Red Eye chuckled, there was in humor in the sound. He shook his head, "Sorry," he said, "They made it pretty clear we were to keep our mouths shut."

Nagisa had expected as much. "It's fine," he said, "Can you stand?" He asked. 

Red Eye nodded and he stood up. Immediately his face went pale and he stumbled a little, "Okay, maybe not," he said, as Kaito caught him with a grunt. 

"Help him upstairs," Nagisa told Kaito, "The rest of you follow me." 

"Wait, Nagisa-san." 

Nagisa glanced back and Red Eye said, "Were those two your students?" He asked. Nagisa nodded in confirmation and the assassin huffed out a breath, "Be careful," he said. 

Nagisa wasn't sure if he was telling him to be careful of what laid ahead or to be wary of his own students. He simply nodded and refused to think it was the latter. 

Kaito lead Red Eye back up the stairs and Nagisa continued down the tunnel with the rest of his class. "Alright class," he said cheerfully, "Let's run through what we know. We found Mikado's house destroyed, both he and Natsuki are missing," he hoped the false lightness in his voice was enough to hide his worry, "But it's obvious they came here on their own free will. So what do you think happened?" 

There was silence behind him. Finally Akira spoke up, "Maybe they somehow got hold of the location and came to check it out themselves?" She suggested.

"Sounds like something Mikado-kun would do," Renji muttered. 

"I don't think so," Misuki said, "He's reckless and I doubt he actually understands the term dangerous but he's not stupid. I don't think Natsuki-chan would just go along with it either." 

"Hmm..." Nagisa smiled, "Then what do you think happened, Misuki-chan?" He asked. 

"His house was trashed, so I think he was threatened," Misuki said, "Whoever is behind this either lured him here or threatened him into coming. Natsuki was probably just with him at the moment and tagged along." 

Nagisa smiled, "Very good Misuki-chan," he said in approval, "That is precisely what I think happened." They reached the end of the tunnel, and Nagisa glanced up at the open door. "Looks like our only way is up." 

He scaled the wall, his students in tow. He stepped through the door and his heart sank as he surveyed the scene before them. 

There was blood _everywhere_. It looked like a massacre scene right out of a horrible movie. Five men were lying in the corridor ahead. Two were knocked out but otherwise unharmed, but the remaining three... 

"Holy..." Nagisa heard one of his students murmur from behind him.

His thoughts exactly. Nagisa grimaced as he heard the sound of someone throwing up. He didn't blame them. Of the three remaining men, one's face was viciously mutilated, another had a bloody hole in his throat, while the third was missing a hand and slowly bleeding to death from the deep woumd in his abdomen. It was enough to make anyone's stomach turn. 

Nagisa approached the nearest man and knelt down to inspect the wounds. "Stab wounds," he said. Definitely made by a blade of some kind. Nagisa's insides twisted themselves into knots. 

He glanced at the other two wounded men. Head, throat, torso and wrist. Whoever had done it knew how to fight, and was apparently well versed in the typical kendo fighting style. Whatever doubt and hope he had that it hadn't been his student who was responsible for such horrors crumbled to dust. 

Mikado had done this. 

Nagisa closed his eyes. He waited exactly two seconds and opened his eyes. He stood up, careful to keep his expression calm in front of his students. 

Even so he heard Koharu say, "Nagisa-sensei? Are you alright?" 

No. No, he wasn't. 

"It's fine," he said with a smile, "We have to keep moving."

He was going to have a very long talk with Mikado after all this was over. 

* * *

Natsuki ran down the corridor. She rounded around the corner and came face to face with another guard. The man's eyes widened in surprise, "Hey-" 

She didn't let him finish his sentence. She didn't slow down, using the momentum to rammed an elbow into his stomach. The man doubled over and she slammed a foot straight into his face. The man crumpled to the ground like a ragged doll. 

Shd lifted a hand to her earpiece, "Mikado?" Once again Mikado didn't reply. Natsuki let out a growl of frustration. She didn't know what was happening on the other end of the comm. Mikado had been silent for so long she was really starting to worry. With that look she had seen in his eye, she didn't trust him one bit to not get himself into trouble. 

Natsuki gritted her teeth and continued down the corridor. She reached the control room without running into anyone else. The door to the control room was open, and the blinding white lights were switched on. Natsuki drew her gun and stepped cautiously into the room. 

The computers that lined the wall to her right were up and running while red lights flickered on the control panel. Natsuki took a step towards the controls and heard the sound of a gun being loaded behind her. She froze. 

How could she be so careless? 

"Don't mov-" 

Natsuki moved. She whirled and ducked, grabbing the man's arm. A shot went off, barely missing her head. She twisted his arm forcing him to release his gun with a grunt. Before she knew what was happening, a boot was flying for her face. Natsuki blocked with a forearm, but the force from the kick was enough to sent pain spiking up her arm. 

She grabbed the man's foot, but he twisted in mid air, freeing himself and slamming his other foot into her hand, knocking her gun aside. Natsuki cursed as her gun landed with a clatter on the ground.

She drew her knife and launched herself at the man. She slashed her knife across his chest, anyone who was even a fraction of a degree slower than he was would have ended up with wicked cuts but the man got away with nothing except a torn shirt. 

The man grabbed her arm, and Natsuki slammed a knee into his torso. The man hissed and yanked her arm. Natsuki felt her feet leaving the ground, but she kicked out, catching his jaw with the end of her foot. 

They both went sprawling. Natsuki landed on her shoulder and was up in a heartbeat. She drew her pistol the same time the man drew his spare gun. Neither of them moved a muscles, guns pointed at each others' heads. 

"Who... are you?" The man said between pants. At least he sounded as tired as Natsuki was. Now that the both of them had finally stopped moving, Natsuki managed to take an actual look at him. The dark haired man was a lot younger than she had first thought he was, in his late twenties perhaps. He was tall and lean, built like a military solider in his prime.

No wonder fighting him took more effort than all the others she and Mikado had ran into outside. 

"Why the hell would I answer to Hirayama's thug?" She snapped back. 

The man's eyebrows drew together, "What? Hirayama- Wait, you think _I_ work for Hirayama?" 

Natsuki frowned, "Don't you?" 

"No!" The man shouted in outrage, "I thought you did!" 

"Then who are you?" Natsuki demanded. 

"You first." 

"No, you," Natsuki growled, "I can do this all night." 

The man gritted his teeth, but then realization dawned upon his face, "Wait..." He tilted his head, "Natsuki-san?" 

Natsuki faltered, but she didn't lower her gun, "For the last time," she said though clenched teeth, "Who. Are. You." 

The man's harsh expression softened ever so slightly and he lowered his gun, "Don't you recognize me?" He asked, "I'm Agent Nishimura," he said, "Elite Forces. Lieutenant. You knocked me out after I asked where Chief Karasuma was, remember? I was only a recruit then. You were like what? Eight? Nine?" 

"You," Natsuki lowered her gun warily, finally recognising him, "What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded. 

"I could ask you the same," Nishimura shot back. 

"I asked first, _lieutenant_ ," Natsuki snapped.

"You know, technically you can't outrank me since you're still a minor." 

Natsuki glared at him. Nishimura scowled but be straightened, "HQ found Hirayama's base I was sent to destroy it and assassinate Hirayama."

Her father hadn't told her anything about that. But that wasn't a surprise. 

"Are working you alone?" Natsuki asked. Nishimura gave her a flat look, "It's a one man job," he said, "Any more would draw too much attention. This place is crawling with professional hitmen and hired thugs in case you haven't noticed." 

"I noticed," Natsuki muttered. 

"Now why are _you here?_ " Nishimura asked. He checked his watch, "Nevermind," he said before she could reply, "Tell me on the way, we have leave. Now." 

"Why?" Natsuki asked. 

"I told you I'm here to destory this base," Nishimura said, "I rigged the system that controls the water ways, this entire place is going to flood in five minutes. Anything without gills left in here is going to drown, including us," he grabbed her wrist, "So we should go. Right now." 

"What? No!" Natsuki yanked her arm out of his grasp, "Someone else came with me, he's still in here. He went looking for Hirayama in the laboratory." 

Nishimura pressed his lips together, "It's too late," he said, "We can't go back for him. We have to go or we're going to die." 

"If we leave, Mikado's going to die! Can't you just stop the flooding?" 

Nishimura sighed, "Listen, Natsuki-san," he looked just about ready to shake her, "I don't like it anymore than you do, but can't stop the system now. If I do it's not going to work again," he said.

"But-" 

"You know how it works," Nishimura cut her off, "Sometimes people die on missions. It's just how it is! This mission is way more important than you realize, I can't risk it failing, you understand that right?" 

Natsuki eyed him coldly, "If it were you in his place, would you die for the sake of some mission?" 

Nishimura didn't bat an eye, "Gladly," he said without hesitation. 

Natsuki glared at him. She flicked her gaze towards the control panel, "Shut it down," she growled. 

Nishimura's expression hardened, "I'm not doing that," he said firmly. 

"Fine," Natsuki drew her gun, "Looks like we have to do this the hard way." Nishimura already had his gun in his hand, "Are you being serious right now?" He demanded. 

Natsuki's silence was his answer. Nishimura's lips curled into a snarl, "Very well," he he pointed his gun at her, "I have no intention of failing my mission." 

"Me either," Natsuki growled. 

"No hard feelings?" 

Natsuki snorted, "We'll see," she said and lunged forward. 

* * *

Mikado walked down the corridor leading to Hirayama's lab. Oddly enough, he hadn't encountered a single soul on the way there. He gripped his blood stained sword and approached the laboratory door on silent feet. 

The door was cracked open, and lights flickered from inside the room. He peered inside and saw the man he had seen from the dinner. Yasunori Hirayama was dressed in a white lab coat. He was writing some notes and casually observing a little white mouse in a small cage as it screeched and screeched. 

Mikado lifted a finger to his earpiece. "Natsuki?" He murmured softly. There was nothing except the buzz of static in his ear. Mikado lowered his hand and set his jaw. He opened the door silently and stepped into the room. 

If Hirayama had noticed, he didn't turn around. "Did my uncle send you?" He asked casually, his cold grey eyes fixed on the mouse in the cage. 

"What?" 

Hirayama glanced over his shoulder and he frowned. He turned around, closing his notebook and taking off his glasses, "I'm asking if Daichi sent you," he said, his eyed the sword in Mikado's hand, "Perhaps not." 

"I don't know anyone named Daichi," Mikado said coldly, "I'm here for Hayato." 

"And I don't know anyone named Hayato," Hirayama replied. His eyes flicked over towards the screens on one of the walls. Camera footage, Mikado realized with a jolt. He had been watching them the whole time. 

Hirayama glanced back at Mikado, "But thank you for taking care of the people outside." 

Mikado's eyebrows drew together, "Wait what?" He stared at Hirayama, "They weren't your men?"

Hirayama chuckled, picked up his notebook and flipping it open, "I work alone, Mikado Takahashi," he said calmly, "You should do your research before jumping into anything just like that." 

"Believe it or not, I have no idea who hired those men to watch my base," Hirayama scanned the page of his book, "Not that it matters anymore. This is the end game and we are all very much dead, thanks to the two ministry agents fighting in the control room." 

"What?"

What the hell was going on? 

Mikado traded his sword for the gun in his back pocket. He pointed the gun at the man, "Tell me what you're up to and where is Hayato?" 

Hirayama ignored him, not looking the slightest but intimidated, "Mikado Takahashi," Hirayama flicked his cold eyes up to look at him, "What makes you so special?" 

"What are you talking about?" Mikado demanded, loading his gun. 

Hirayama sighed, pulling on a face mask, "Guess you'll have to do." 

Only then did Mikado notice the faint hissing noise coming from the doors. 

Gas. 

He felt his eyelids and limbs grow heavy. Before he had time to fully comprehend what was going on, he was falling backwards. His gun landed on the floor with a clatter and he had just enough time to curse before everything went black. 

Natsuki was going to kill him.


	29. End Game: You who I love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas in advance everyone :)

Natsuki wiped the back of her hand over her split lip. " _Baka_ ," she spat the the unconscious agent at her feet. 

God, her side hurt like hell. Nishimura hadn't gone easy on her at all. Maybe loosing to a nine-year-old that one time provided sufficient motivation for him to up his game. 

She stumbled over to the control panels. After quite a few mistakes she managed to stop the system with half a minute to spare. She glanced over at the man lying knocked out on the floor, and snorted. "Ass," she muttered sitting down on the floor with a groan. 

She lifted a hand to her comm, "Mikado?" 

Once again Mikado was silent on the other end of the comm. Natsuki felt a sinking feeling in the pit of she stomach. She stood up, "Mikado, I swear if you don't answer me right now, I'm burning all your kendo books," she said. 

Still there was no reply. 

Natsuki turned towards the control panel. She flicked a switch marked CAM and a blank screen flickered to life. One by one the squares of black and white footage appeared on the computer screen.

Before she had a chance to take a closer look at them, Natsuki heard footsteps approaching. She drew her gun and pointed it at the door, the door slammed open and Renji came stumbling in. 

His green eyes widened, "Don't shoot!" He said, his hands in the air, "It's me!" 

"Renji-kun?" Natsuki stared at him, "How... What are you doing here?" She demanded. 

"Hi, Natsuki-chan," Nagisa said cheerfully as rest of her class came flooding in. 

Natsuki lowered her gun, "What are _all_ of you doing here?"

"We came to save you and Mikado obviously," Renji said, "Or we were anyway. Misuki and I found Mikado's apartment destroyed and Hayato-kun was crying and-" 

"Wait what?" 

And she thought things couldn't get anymore confusing. "Hayato-kun's alright?" She asked. Renji frowned, "Why wouldn't he be?" He asked. 

It had been a set up. 

They had been such _idiots_. 

"The house was trashed when we got to Mikado's place," Natsuki explained, "Mikado received a phone call, some guy told us he had Hayato and got us to meet him here." 

"Where's the guy now?" 

Natsuki threw her hands up in frustration, "I don't know! He never showed up. He claimed to be one of Hirayama's guys, so we went looking for Hirayama instead." 

"Uh... Natsuki-chan," Ichiro cut in, "Sorry to interrupt but who's this?" Natsuki glanced at her classmate and saw him nudging Nishimura's limp hand with a foot. Natsuki shrugged, "Some military agent sent to flood this entire place," she said. 

_"What?"_

"Relax, I stopped him," Natsuki muttered. 

"Karasuma-sensei didn't tell me anything about another agent being here," Nagisa finally spoke up. Their teacher had been oddly quiet the entire time. Natsuki could almost see the gears in his head turning. 

If her father hadn't told Nagsia either...

"He's Elite Forces," Natsuki said, "They operate mainly on their own," she glanced at Nishimura, "Otousan probably knew nothing about this." 

"This is giving me a headache," Jin said, sitting down on a table, "What exactly is going on here?"

"Where's Mikado-kun?" Nagisa asked as if Jin hadn't spoken. 

"I'm not sure, we split up, but I couldn't contact him." 

"Uh... Guys, I think I found Mikado-kun," Misuki said. Natsuki glanced over her shoulder and saw Misuki staring at he screen with the camera footage. Her face had gone very, very pale. 

Natsuki was at her side in an instant, the rest crowding in behind them. "That's him... Isn't it?" Misuki pointed a finger at the screen, her usually loud voice usually hushed. Natsuki glanced at where she pointed and felt heart stop dead in her chest. 

The footage showed what looked like a laboratory. The place was empty spare for a lone figure sitting in the center of the room, tied to a chair in chains. 

Mikado...?

Natsuki was out the door before anyone could stop her. 

* * *

He remembered the blinding lights. 

He remembered the pain. 

So. 

Much. 

Unending. 

Pain. 

It felt like his skull was being cleaved in two. The pain spread down his spine, seeping towards every inch of his body, into the very fibre of his being.

He wasn't sure if he was screaming. 

And amidst the utter hell he was in, a question. 

_What do you want?_

He had no answer. 

So the pain continued. Till the pain became something he was accustomed to. Till he couldn't even remember his name. 

But he remembered the name of a another. He clung on to it, for as long as he could, until it too faded away in the mist of pain. 

He didn't know how much time had passed. It could have been mere minutes or it could have been years. Everything faded away. But the question remained, like a fiery brand in his mind. 

_What do you want?_

* * *

Natsuki ran towards Hirayama's lab, ignoring the shouts from her classmates that followed her. She slammed the door open and she froze.

"Mikado..." 

For a split second she didn't recognized him at all. He was chained to a metal chair by the wrist and ankles. His head was hung, and his dark hair was now iron grey, lined with white and silver. His eyes were closed, and he sat frozen and unmoving

What had they done to him? 

"Mikado," Natsuki took a step forward but something made her stop dead in her tracks. It was him....

But something wasn't right. 

There was just something about him that sent her every instinct bristling. Against her better judgement she took another step forward, even though a rational part of her screamed for her to the get hell away from the thing in the chair. 

"Mikado?" 

And then he spoke, and the voice she had grown to find reassuring made her blood freeze. 

"My Natsuki... I waited for you," Mikado murmured, his lips barely moving. He didn't look at her, "I waited for you..." He said softly, "But I'm tired of waiting. I hated waiting!" He yelled. 

Natsuki started backing away from him, instinctively drawing a knife. "I knew you would come..." Mikado continued, more quietly this time again, "Of course you would come." 

"What are you even-" 

"Tell me something Natsuki," he said, cutting her off. A small smile curled at his lips, "Do you love me?" 

Natsuki stared at him. It was clear he wasn't in his right mind. What on earth did they do to him? "I..." she hesitate, "Yes, of course I love you," she said softly. She hadn't realized it was true until she had spoken it aloud. Mikado looked up and Natsuki nearly dropped her knife. 

The whites of his eyes were solid obsidian. His once dark eyes now red as blood, blazing with sparks and spreading outward like tongues of flame. And there was madness, utter complete madness in those unholy eyes, "Then do one thing for me," he said calmly. 

Natsuki couldn't look away from him, "What is it?" 

Mikado smiled. A cruel, twisted smile that didn't fit his handsome face. "Die!" He roared and the room exploded. Two pairs of tentacles, silver, metallic, horrible tentacles like the ones she had seen on Ren Okaha, burst from his hair, ripping through the restrains that chained him down. Natsuki was thrown back from the sheer force of it.

Before she knew it, she found herself staring up at the ceiling. She caught a flash of silver out of the corner of her eye and rolled just as a tentacle stabbed straight into the ground where her head had been not half a second ago. Natsuki leapt to her feet, and those tentacles followed her. 

Mikado's tentacles were different from Okaha's. He only had half the number of tentacles Okaha had, but they were at the very least twice as fast. They looked as if they were made of liquid metal, each tip was curved, reforming and sharpening, like ever changing fluid blades. 

Those tentacles shot towards her, faster than bullets. Natsuki raised her blade to cut one off, but like Okaha's, her blade heated up red hot on contact and melted onto a pool of metal. 

Mikado smiled. Before she knew what was happening, she was flying across the room. Her back slammed into the ground, and she felt the wind knocked right out of her lungs. 

"Mikado..." 

She saw nothing of the boy she knew in the creature who stood on the other end of the room, watching her with cruel amusement in his eyes. The last thing she saw was his twisted smile on his lips, before darkness claimed her for its own. 

* * *

Nagisa almost didn't make it in time. 

"Natsuki-chan!" He grabbed the unconscious girl, and shoved them both out of the way, just as Mikado's tentacles stabbed the ground, tearing the edge of his vest and missing him by a hairline. 

"You." 

That single word was coated in enough venom to make Nagisa grit his teeth. He set Natsuki down and stood up, putting himself between her and the monster that had once been his student. He turned to face him, "Mikado-kun." 

As if hearing his name were the trigger, Mikado lunged with frightening speed, tentacles lashing. One moment he was a few lengths away, the next he was close enough to rip his face off. Nagisa moved, faster than he had ever moved in a long while, drawing his blade in a flash and sliced off three of them before Mikado was forced to retreat. 

"Stop this, Mikado," Nagisa said, the green rubber knife his friends had given him as a wedding gift clenched tightly in his hand. "I don't want to hurt you." 

Mikado's fiery eyes glowed with rage, "I'd like to see you try," he snarled, the three severed tentacles regenerating in a snap. "You can't kill me," he growled, "No one can kill me!" Silvery fluid dripped from his newly regenerated tentacles, like liquid mercury. 

"Be quiet!" Nagisa snapped, his voice raised. 

Even Mikado looked surprised by his sudden outburst. "You think just because you have those tentacles and speed you're invincible?" Nagisa asked calmly as if he were questioning a troublemaker in class. 

"No," he said answering his own question, "I've killed someone, far more powerful than you. He was my teacher, the best I ever had, and your power is absolutely _nothing_ compared to his." 

Mikado bared his teeth in a snarl, "Shut up!" He roared. He launched himself at Nagisa, tentacles lashing wildly. 

"That's how it's going to be then huh?" Nagisa bent his knees, his bright eyes gleaming, "Very well." He raised his knife.

It was about time he taught the boy a lesson.


	30. End Game: Invisible Monsters

"Shit. Shit. Shit." 

Renji ran a hand through his hair, ignoring the annoyed looks he was getting from his classmates, as they watched the fight from the control room. 

"This is very, very, very bad," Misuki said from beside him, "Mikado-kun's gone crazy."

Renji chewed his lip, his eyes fixed on the black and white screen. Mikado was beyond reasoning, but Renji could tell by his movement alone that Nagisa-sensei was trying his best not to hurt him. Their teacher was fast, but Mikado was faster. It was only a matter of time before Nagisa made a mistake. 

"We have to do something," Jin said gripping the phone in his hand so hard, Renji was genuinely worried he might crush it, "We can't just sit here watching them try to kill each other." 

"What are we supposed to do?" Tenkai muttered, "Nagisa-sensei told us to stay put. Besides have you _seen_ the guy," he pointed at Mikado darting across the screen so fast he was a blur, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake, "I don't think he's even human anymore." 

Renji tapped his finger on the control panel. There had to be something they could do. They had to do something before Mikado tore both Natsuki and Nagisa to shreads. 

"Hirayama would know how to fix him," Renji said, "We have to find him." 

"That's not too hard, he's right there," Misuki said. 

"What?" Renji whipped his head in her direction and saw her pointing to the corner of the screen, "That's him, isn't it?" She asked. 

Renji squinted at the screen and saw a man standing in a corridor, fiddling with a heavy firedoor. He was hunched over, right at the very corner of the screen, as if he were trying to be as discrete as possible. They could barely make him out thanks to the angle of the camera. 

"I'm not sure," Renji said, "What do you guys think?" He asked, glancing at his classmates. 

Akira elbowed him aside, much to his annoyance. "That's him alright," she said, "Besides what kind of person walks around in a lab coat?" 

"Where is this?" Koharu asked. 

Renji pulled out his phone and drew up the map Sora and Farlan had sent him. He frowned, "I think it's behind the lab," he said, turning his phone upside down, "Wait no, I think-"

"God! Tell us along the way," Misuki said, grabbing his arm and dragging him out the door, "He's already getting away!" 

* * * 

How did it come to this? 

It was the only thing Nagisa could think of as he faced his student, who stared back at him, crimson eyes burning with murderous intent.

Before he could so much as blink, Mikado was right in front of him, the roar that came from his lips was anything but human. Nagisa ducked and his silvery tentacles lashed at empty air. 

"Mikado, look at yourself!" Nagisa shouted, slashing downwards and slicing off a tentacle aimed for his head, "This isn't you. The Mikado I knew would never hurt his friends."

Mikado threw his head back and laughed, a crackling noise that sent chills down Nagisa's spine. "What friends?" Mikado asked with a cruel grin, "They were never my friends. I had one friend _sensei_ ," his voice mocking, "And I let her die!" 

Nagisa remembered that particular incident all to well. He hadn't known Mikado then, he hadn't known the girl either, but he knew enough to know it wasn't Mikado fault, and yet he blamed himself anyway. 

"That incident with Hikari wasn't your fault," Nagisa said, desperately trying to knock some sense into him. He dart back, narrowly avoiding another tentacle. 

If he could find the root of his desire... Just maybe he could snap him out of his madness. 

"Mikado-kun, listen to me. You're strong. You can fight it, don't let it take control." 

"Shut up!" Mikado screamed. His four tentacles shot outwards, each end lengthening and sharpening into a deadly edge, like two sets of swords. Mikado launched himself at Nagisa with a yell. 

Nagisa reversed his grip on his rubber knife and slashed. He cut off the first two, but the third he had to dogde, and as for the forth...

He was too slow. 

He saw the blade-like tentacle racing for his heart. He turned sideways do avoid it, but the the tentacle changed its direction on a dime, shooting upward. Nagisa's eyes widened. He moved, but Mikado faster. 

He felt something cold slice his cheek. He didn't feel anything at first, and then his face began to sting. Mikado didn't even give him time to think, forcing him to retreat with a swipe of his tentacles. He reached up a hand to touch his face, and saw his fingers stained with blood.

"Nagisa-sensei!" 

He had almost forgotten about Natsuki. Relief flooded his veins at the sound of her voice. Nagisa spared her a look and saw that she was thankfully awake once again. Natsuki took a step towards them, gun in hand, her gaze fixed on Mikado. 

"No!" Nagisa said, "Stay back. He's too dangerous." 

He didn't have time to say anything else. That slightest distracted alone was enough to give Mikado the advantage. He was rushing towards him again, screaming as he did, and the fight resumed. 

* * *

"Now what?" Renji asked as they stared at the open door before them. The door leading back into the dark sewerage canals, where Hirayama had supposedly vanished into. 

He didn't like this one bit.

"We go in obviously," Misuki said, pulling out her flashlight and one of her BB guns. 

"Do you seriously think a fake gun is going to help right now?" Renji muttered, eyeing the sewer warily. 

Misuki shot him a look, "Do you want to help Mikado or not?" She asked. 

He did. He really did. 

Akira punched his shoulder, "Come on, don't be such a scardy cat," she said, brushing past him and walking through the door. The rest of his class followed. 

"I'm not scared," Renji muttered under his breath, rubbing his shoulder, "I just don't want to die." Nevertheless he flicked on his flashlight and followed them in. 

They walked into the dark tunnel with Misuki leading the way and Renji holding up the rear. The beams of their torches cutting through the inky darkness. Renji shone his flashlight ahead, but he couldn't make out an end to the tunnel. 

"Hirayama~ Where are you?' Misuki sang, as they trudged their way through the water covered grounds. Her voice echoed off the walls, sending chills down Renji's spine. 

"Would you stop that?" Ichiro hissed at her before Renji could so much as open his mouth. 

Misuki shrugged, abruptly halting, so fast Hana crashed right into her back. "How else are we supposed to find him?" She asked, glancing back at them. 

Then they heard the sound of footsteps in the water behind them. None of them were moving. Renji stilled, turning around slowly. Beams of light flashed towards the sound of the noise. 

But there was nothing there. 

Akira laughed nervously, "Maybe it's just the wind," she suggested. None of them believed that even for a second. 

"Look! Over there!" Jin pointed. 

For a moment he wasn't sure what Jin was talking about. Then he saw it, and still he couldn't believe his eyes. 

There were ripples in the water, made by absolutely nothing, radiation from a single point. And when Renji shone his flashlight in that direction, he saw a shadow of a man appearing on the wall. 

"What the hell..." 

The shadow froze, its head turned in their direction and it was running, footsteps splashing across the water. 

"After him!" Misuki shouted and tore after the invisible man, the others followed. Renji stared after them for a split second before following, "Are you guys serious?" he yelled. 

They chased the down to a dead end, or what they thought was a dead end anyway. At this point, Hirayama drew a knife. Which itself looked like something out of a horror movie, with a knife floating in mid air. Misuki shot a BB in the direction of the knife without even pausing. 

"Oi Hirayama~ How are you doing that?" Misuki asked, there was a mad gleam in her eyes, one Renji saw when she came up with another contraption bound to cause them trouble. 

He wasn't sure how Misuki could still sound that curious about in this situation. How was exactly the last thing on his mind at the moment. 

"Damn kids," Hirayama's voice said from nowhere. He stepped out of the water and his knife vanished. 

"Oi that's not fun!" Misuki shouted, "Where did you go?" 

Renji decided there and then that their assistant class rep might just be a few screws off. 

They shone their flashlights in the direction where Hirayama's footstep disappeared, but no shadows appeared. Renji heard a barely audible creak, and shone his light to the right. 

There was a rusty pipe ladder they hadn't noticed there. Sure enough Hirayama's shadow appeared. "There!" Renji shouted. They rushed towards the ladder but Hirayama had already scrambled to the top. By the time Renji climbed up the ladder, he heard wet footsteps running towards the door on the other end of the overhang. 

They were going to lose him. 

"Damn it," Renji tore after him. But Hirayama had already made it to the door. The man wrenched the door open only to come face to face with a dark haired man in an army uniform. 

Natsuki's father looked momentarily confused, but he seemed to react on instinct, punching Hirayama in the face. The invisible man landed with a crash on the ground. 

"Yes!" Renji punched the air, as the rest of his class scrambled up, "Thanks, sir," he said. 

Karasuma's frowned, looking surprised that he had actually hit something. "Don't mention it," he said, glancing down on the supposedly empty ground with a scowl, "Anyone going to tell me what's going on?"

"Yeah," Kaito said appearing at Karasuma's shoulder, followed by a squad soldiers, "What on earth was that?" He asked, eyebrows knitted in confusion. 

Before Renji had a chance to explain, a man in a lab coat with a briefcase in hand appeared on the ground fading back and forth before finally solidifying. To his credit Karasuma didn't so much as flinch. He took a step back, "Hirayama," he glanced up at Renji, "What are you kids doing here?" He asked, "Where's Nagisa and Natsuki?" 

"Yeah," Renji muttered, scratching the back of his head, "About that." 

They explained the situation to Karasuma the best that they could as his soldiers came in to drag Hirayama away. "Wait," Karasuma lifted a hand and the two men holding Hirayama between them stopped. "Wake him up," Karasuma ordered and someone threw water on the man's face. 

Hirayama woke up with a jerk, looking disoriented. He struggled against the men gripping him, but the two soldiers held fast. His grey eyes found Karasuma and narrowed behind his cracked glasses, "Karasuma-san," he chuckled lowly, "I should have known." 

Karasuma's expression was stony, "You turned that Takahashi boy into one of your monsters." 

Hirayama glanced up with a raised eyebrow, "And what if I did?" He asked flatly. 

Karasuma clenched his jaw. He leaned down, "Why?" He asked. 

"Hah," the scientist snorted, "Because I can, is that what you want me to say?" Karasuma waited and Hirayama clicked his tongue, "It was nothing personal if that's what you wanted to know. I needed a distraction to get away. The boy just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, that's all." 

"How do we fix him?" Misuki spoke up. 

"Fix him?" Hirayama turned towards her, the light from their flashlights reflecting off his glasses, turning them opaque. "You can't fix him," he said with a dry chuckle, "He's an incomplete product, no better than Ren. I only added a concoction that increase fluidity, unfortunately that also significantly decreased his rationality."

"You-" Renji and Jin held Kaito back as he made a lunge for Hirayama. 

Hirayama smiled coldly, "You can't save him," he said simply, "You're better off trying to kill him. I doubt he'll even survive the next few hours anyway." 

Karasuma grabbed the man by the collar. "Well, my daughter is in there with that your _distraction_ ," he growled, "So you better start thinking how you can fix your mess." 

Hirayama glance up at the man, looking unconcerned. He kept silent. 

"Very well," Karsuma shoved him aside and jerked his chin towards Hirayama's briefcase. He nodded to the soldier holding it, "Open it." Hirayama's eyes widened the slightest degree. 

The man opened the briefcase, revealing a row of syringes. Renji counted a dozen of them. The first was empty, the following four were filled with colourless liquid, while the rest were a variety of different colours. 

Karasuma picked up one of the syringes with the colourless liquid. He squeezed a single drop onto his finger, and Renji watched as that tiny bit of his finger vanished into thin air before reappearing a moment later. 

So that was how he had done it. 

"Let me guess," Karasuma said turning the syringe over in his hand, "This is your life's work isn't it?" 

Hirayama was quiet. He didn't look so confident now. Karasuma replace the syringe and crossed his arms, "Destroy it," he ordered. 

"Sir?" The young man holding the briefcase paused, looking stunned. 

"I gave you a direct order," Karasuma said, "Get rid of it." 

The man hesitated but he nodded stiffly, "Yes sir." 

"No!" Hirayama strained against the two men that held him down, as the soldier lifted the briefcase to smash it into the ground. "Don't! You have no idea how valuable those things are!" Hirayama said loudly, his aloof facade cracking, "They cost me everything!" 

Karasuma shrugged, "You're right," he said, "I have no idea at all." He nodded at the soldier, who raised the briefcase once again. 

"Stop! Your government would want what's in there," Hirayama said, desperation creeping into his voice, "I don't care if you take it, but for heaven's sake don't destroy it!" 

Karasuma eyed the man coldly, "I'm no scientist," he said, "I'm a soldier. I don't care how valuable it might be, I'm just doing as I was ordered. And I think, the government can do without your inhuman work." He scowled at the man holding the briefcase, "What are you waiting for?" He demanded. 

"You want to save the boy? The best chance you've got is in there!" Hiryama spat. 

Karasuma's lips curled into a faint smirk, "Really now?" He gestured and the man holding the briefcase set it down in front of the scientist. 

"Which one?" Karasuma growled.

Hirayama's glare could burn holes. "None here," he said coldly, "But I can modify one to stabilize him, I just need my things back in the lab." 

Karasuma's eyes narrowed, "Are you lying?" 

Hirayama gritted his teeth, "I swear on my life I'll try. I can't promise anything, but I'm the best chance you've got. Just don't destroy my work." 

Karasuma hesitated, thinking before he nodded at the two man holding him down. They yanked him the scientist to his feet. 

"Very well, professor," Karasuma's smile was frightening, "If you can save Takahashi-kun the ministry will pardon your life. If not," he shrugged, "You know what happens." 

Hirayama pressed his lips together. "Fine," he said through clenched teeth, "Have it your way, Agent Karasuma." 

"Lead the way." 

* * *

Nagisa ducked as another tentacle flashed pass him. It took everything he had learned over the years to keep himself alive. 

He sliced off a tentacle and spared Natsuki a glance, who stood on the sidelines, looking as helpless as Nagisa felt. At least she was doing as he told her. 

He didn't know how long they had been fighting. His arms and legs were covered in fine cuts from near misses. Mikado showed no signs of tiring. No matter how many times Nagisa sliced off his tentacles, he didn't seem to slow down even the slightest. 

"Mikado-kun," Nagisa tried again, "What is it that you want?" He asked. 

Wrong question. That seem to set him off even more. He didn't even speak anymore, all his concentration focused on Nagisa. Nagisa could tell the boy was hell bent on killing him. 

Mikado wasn't tiring, but Nagisa sure was. The pain from his may cuts was really starting to kick in. With every dodge, his movements grew slower, and his knife missed more often than he liked. 

If this kept up, he might actually wind up dead. 

Then he heard the door slam open. "Nagisa-sensei!" He heard one of his students shout. Renji. 

Nagisa glanced over his shoulder, and saw his students, Karasuma and a few soldiers storming into the room. Renji was waving something over his head. A syringe? "We've got something that might help Mikado." Before Nagisa could reply, the soldiers drew their guns, aiming them straight at Mikado. 

"No! Don't shoot!" Nagisa shouted. Mikado took advantage of the distraction and sent two sets od tentacles flying his way.

This time Nagisa knew he couldn't dodge him. Then there was a flash of black hair. Nagisa's eyes widened. Natsuki appeared out of nowhere, stepping directly in front of him. 

The tentacles froze, half an inch from her face. "Natsuki-chan!" Nagisa gripped her arm, intending to yank her back, but Natsuki stood firm. 

"You won't hurt me," Natsuki said, staring Mikado straight in the eye, "Would you?" 

Mikado stared at her. His eyes burning with anger, and his lips were drawn in a half-snarl, but his tentacles withdrew slightly, curling back a little. 

"Nagisa-sensei!" 

Nagisa turned and saw a syringe hurling for his face. He caught it by pure luck. He didn't miss a beat, and lunged pass Natsuki. Mikado turned his head, his fiery eyes widening in surprise.

Nagisa stabbed the needle into the boy's neck. The bright yellow liquid seeped under his skin, and Mikado's hand shot to his neck. The fire in his eyes vanished, and he stared at Nagisa, "Sensei...?" 

His tentacles retreated into his hair, and Mikado's eyes rolled backwards as he went limp, collapsing onto the ground. 

"Mikado!" Natsuki rushed forward, kneeling down beside him. She touched his face, and Nagisa felt his heart plunge as she drew a shaky hand away. There were tears in the young assassin's eyes as she glanced up at him. 

"He's not breathing!" 

* * *

Where was he? 

It was as if he were drifting in darkness. The pain was gone, everything was gone. He heard voices, shouts and screams, but they were muffled as if he were underwater. 

Was he dead? 

He heard someone shouting his name. Someone... someone he cared about. Her name... What was her name? What was his name? He couldn't remember. 

The tentacles asked him what he wanted. 

He wanted to live, to be strong enough to protect those he cared about. So that they would be safe. He couldn't save her, but he wanted to protect them from harm.

Those he cared about...

Hayato. 

Natsuki. 

He opened his eyes. That was right. He wanted to protect them. Hayato. Natsuki. He wanted to live... for them.

_"Wake up!"_

He heard the voice again. Natsuki. 

_"Mikado! Please!"_

Mikado. Yes... that was his name, he remembered now. Mikado Takahashi. He was Mikado Takahashi. 

He had to wake up. 

_"Wake up!"_

So he did. 

***

"Mikado!" Natsuki shook him, but his eyes remained closed. "Mikado please!" She bowed her head, squeezing her eyes shut and hugging him tightly, "Wake up," she pled. She didn't realize she was crying until she felt tears slipping down her cheeks. 

But still, he didn't wake up. 

"Natsuki," Natsuki felt a firm hand on her shoulder, "Stop," her father said. Natsuki shook her head, refusing to let go of Mikado. "Natsuki," Karasuma said more firmly. She ignored him. 

It couldn't end like this. Not like this. It was her fault. 

It was all her fault. 

"Mikado," she rested her forehead against his, tears dripping onto his face.

"You... should really listen... to him more." 

Natuski's eyes snapped open. She pulled back and stared at Mikado. Slowly, he cracked open his eyes. Dark eyes without a trace of red. He smiled faintly, and reached up a hand, brushing a lock hair from her face, "Natsuki... don't cry," he murmured, his voice a hoarse whisper, "I'm so... sorry." 

She couldn't believe it. 

Natsuki choked out a laugh, relief loosening a knot at her chest, which was immediately replaced by anger. She slapped his cheek, hard enough it might actually hurt.

"Ow," Mikado mumbled. 

"Don't ever do that again," she said angrily. Mikado had the nerve to smile, "I... promise," he vowed, dark eyes dancing with amusement despite everything. 

It was that look in his eyes... that look that affirmed that he was back to himself; her Mikado, and not some insane psychopath, that made Natsuki lean down and kiss him hard on the lips. Not caring for a second about all the people around them, or the fact that her father was standing just a few feet behind her. 

Mikado was smiling when she pulled away. He watched her thoughtfully through half closed eyelids, "I think... I should try... getting myself killed more," he murmured. 

Natsuki glared at him, " _Baka_ ," she muttered, "Don't you dare." Mikado chuckled, but it quickly turned to a coughing fit. 

"Natsuki," Karasuma pulled her away, as the medics finally arrived. A group of them immediately crowded around Mikado, while a few attended to Nagisa, who shooed them away, insisting he was perfectly fine and directed them to his students.

Natsuki glanced back at Mikado, gripping his fingers. He smiled a little, "Go," he said, "I'll be fine," he promised. 

Natsuki hesitated, but she nodded, releasing his hand. "I'll see you," she said. Mikado nodded and the medics carried him away. The last thing she saw was him tensing, yellowish veins racing across his neck, just under his skin, like a strike of lightning before he disappeared from her line of sight.


	31. Aftermath Time

"How's Mikado?" Natsuki asked her father for the seventh time that week. 

It had been a week since everything happened. A week since she last saw Mikado, being carried away on a stretcher. He was currently under the custody of the Ministry of Defense. No one was allowed to see him, not even his parents and Hayato, and the poor boy had balled his eyes out at that.

Natsuki now sat in her living room with her parents, eating breakfast. School had resumed, and everything was back to normal again, if you didn't count the fact that Mikado's absence was so painfully obvious to everyone in the F Class.

Karasuma shook his head regretfully, setting down his cup of coffee. "He's not going to be up in another good week or so, but he's recovering well. He'll be back to normal after another few days of rest." Natsuki pressed her lips together but it was her mother that asked, "What is the Ministry planning to do with him?" 

Karasuma sighed, "They are still debating over what to do with him," he said, "The serum Hirayama cooked up kept the tentacles in check, but they seemed to have... fused the tentacles with him. We neither have the technology nor the skills to remove them without killing him." 

In an instant Natsuki lost all her appetite, "So you're saying..." 

Her father nodded grimly, "He's stuck with them, likely for the rest of his life." 

Natsuki's fingers curled into a fist. "But on the other hand he seems to have absolute control over them," Karasuma said, "He can weild them as if they were extra limbs. But still, the Ministry thinks he might be a danger to others." 

"Mikado isn't dangerous," Natsuki said. "You don't know that," Karasuma said simply, "What if the tentacles evolve immunity against the serum?" He shook his head, "There are simply too many variables." Natsuki looked down, "You've already decided what to do with him haven't you?"

They were going to kill him. 

Karasuma didn't deny it, he nodded, "In fact I have," he said casually, "With the permission of the ministry, I'm planning to recruit him in the Ministry of Defense's New Special Forces Unit," he said to her surprise. 

"Special Forces Unit?" 

Karasuma nodded, "Speaking of which," he set down his fork and reached into his bag, pulling out a brown file, "I have a new assignment for you." 

Natsuki's eyes narrowed, "What assignment?" She glanced at her mother questioningly, who simply shrugged in response, drinking her tea to hide her smile.

Her father smiled, eyes twinkling with a rare humor, "Trust me," he said, "You'll like this one." 

* * *

Mikado tensed, bending his knees. The young scientist standing a few lengths away raised a hand, "Ready?" She asked. 

He smirked, "Ready."

The sound of gunfire was deafening. A hail of BB bullets flew his way. He saw every single marble-sized sphere, gleaming as they flew through the air, racing straight for him. He a snap his tentacles appeared, slicing each bullet in half before he could even get close enough to do any damage. 

A minute later the gunfire stopped and he glanced in the direction of the two scientist watching him. "That was amazing, Takahashi-san!" The enthusiastic scientist whose name Mikado never bothered to remember exclaimed, punching the air, "That was Mach 20 at the very least!" 

His partner looked less enthusiastic, "Mach 17 actually," she said, scribbling notes on her clipboard. 

"Geez, don't be such a drag, Imari-san," her partner said, "Aren't you even the slightest bit amazed by Takahashi-san?" 

Imari ignored him, glancing at Mikado from behind round glasses, "You up for another round?" She asked.

Mikado nodded, "Sure," he said, as they began prepping the machine guns to fire. 

"Takahashi-san!" 

Mikado glanced up and the two scientist paused. He recognized the dark haired agent standing by the doorway of the training room. Nishimura. The man grinned, "Someone's here to see you!" He called. 

Mikado blinked and Natsuki stepped out from behind Nishimura. His tentacles retracted into his hair with a snap. He couldn't help the stupid grin that split across his face. 

"Natsuki!" 

* * *

To say that Natsuki barely recognized him was an understatement. 

As if the grey hair weren't enough of a change, Mikado now sported a black Ministry of Defense recruit uniform, and oddly enough a pair of rimless glasses now perched on his nose. 

But that lopsided grin was still his, and those dark, dangerous eyes still danced with amusement. He walking over to her, and wordlessly wrapped her in an embrace before she could say anything. 

"Mikado..." 

"I missed you," he murmured. Natsuki couldn't help but smile, "Good to know," she said. 

He pulled away and took a step back, "So..." He held up his hands, "What do you think?" He asked. Natsuki looked him up and down pointedly.

"You look... different," she decided. Mikado's face fell but brightened instantly when she said, "I like it." Mikado grinned. He seemed to be in a unusually cheerful mood today. "What's up with the glasses?" Natsuki asked. 

"Ah..." he pulled off his glasses and squinted at it. "Well, the serum is having some weird side effects," he said, "I woke up two days ago and could barely see two feet in front of me. " 

Guilt curled in the pit of her stomach. It must have shown on her face as well because Mikado shoved his glasses back on and said, "Hey, they don't think it's going to be permanent, for all we know my eyesight will be good as new tomorrow," he grinned, "Besides, Nishimura-san thinks I look better with them." 

Natsuki shot Nishimura a look, and the man stared back at her indignantly from where he stood a few meters away. _What?_ His eyes seem to say. Though he acted as if their fight had never happened, Natsuki could tell he was thoroughly annoyed to have been beaten by her twice now. He hadn't said anything about it, so neither did Natsuki. 

She turned back to Mikado, "How have they been treating you?" She asked. That was something she really wanted to know. "What have they been doing this past two weeks?" 

Mikado frowned a little, "I spent the entire last week recovering," he said, "They've been running a bunch of test on me since then," he jerked his chin towards the two young scientist in white. Who both paused mid-argument to nod their greetings to Natsuki when she turned her gaze towards them. 

"You don't have to worry," Mikado said when he caught the look in her eye, "I'm fine," he assured her with a grin, "They're almost done with the tests. Chief Karasuma said they might let me leave in a few days."

That explains why he was in a good mood. 

Her father had told her that too, but it might take as long as another month for all they knew. "They're sending an agent to monitor me for a few months though," Mikado said, rubbing the back of his neck, "Said I was going to meet the person today actually." 

Natsuki smirked, crossing her arms, "You mean what you're doing right now?" 

Mikado blinked. Natsuki waited, and watched as realization dawned upon his face. He gapped, "Wait, _you're_ the agent they sent?" 

Natsuki grinned, "Yup," she said, "Looks like you're going to be stuck with me for a while." 

Mikado's face broke into a grin, "Sounds great," he said. The look in his eyes was enough to send heat rising to her face. 

"Are you alright with all... this?" She asked, quickly changing the subject. She gestured at his uniform, "They didn't exactly give you a choice did they?" 

Mikado snorted, "Honestly, I'm just glad they let me live," he said darkly. "And I planned to join the military eventually anyway, what's the harm in doing so a few years in advance?" 

That was true. But for some reason she didn't like the fact that he had been forced to join them all that much. Mikado eyed her for a moment before abruptly saying, "Anyway, how's Hayato?" 

That brought a small smile to Natsuki's lips. She had visited the kid twice in the past two weeks. Hayato missed his brother, but at least his parents were taking responsibility and calling a truce for their sons' sake. "He's still waiting for you to go home," she said. 

They talked for hours. About school and their classmates, about the tests they were currently running on him, about anything and everything, until Nishimura finally told her it was time to go. 

"See you soon," Mikado said with a grin, before turning back to the two scientist who were calling for him. Natsuki smiled faintly before leaving with Nishimura. 

Everything was fine. Mikado was alright. 

So why did it feel as if they were missing something?

* * *

Mikado grip his bag and walked through the corridors of Kunugigaoka, ignoring the looks he was getting from his schoolmates as he walked pass. 

It had been almost half a month since everything had happened. The government kept it strictly under wraps, but of course nothing could remain a secret forever, and his absence from school had been so terribly obvious. According to Natsuki the rumours had spread like crazy across the school. Some were close to the truth, others were not. 

Mikado didn't care. 

It was his first day back in school after everything that made his life changed for good. Everything was the same, yet different all at once as he walked down the familiar hallways. 

The Ministry had allowed him to remained in school until he graduated junior high, on condition that he spent his weekends training with the other recruits. Afterwards he was to enter a elite military academy to train, funded fully by the government. 

He hadn't been given a choice on that matter, but he found that he was alright with it, in fact he looked forward to it. Especially when he heard that Natsuki would be entering it with him. 

He couldn't explain it, but despite everything that had happened, he felt lighter than he had been since forever. As if the dark cloud that had been following him since a year ago had finally been lifted. 

"Oi, Takahashi-kun." 

Mikado glanced behind him and saw Yamada and Daiki approaching him. He greeted his former classmates with a faint smile, "Is there a problem?" He asked. 

"They're have been rumour going around about you," Yamada said, slipping his hands into his pockets, "Something about you becoming a lab rat." 

Mikado's smile didn't waver, "Rumors are rumors," he said, "You shouldn't listen too much about them, Yamada-kun." He turned to walk away without another word. 

"You think everything's changed, Takahashi-kun?" 

Mikado froze. 

"Nothing has changed. The A-Class-" 

"Will never forget," Mikado finished for him. He turned back to his former classmates and smiled, "And that's alright," he said. "Because someone told me it wasn't my fault." He smiled, "It took me a while to realize that." 

"You..." 

"You can go ahead and continue hating me," Mikado said, cutting him off, "I've made my peace." 

He wouldn't ever stop regretting being unable to save Hikari, but he decided he would stop blaming himself for it. So he grinned at his former classmates, "But I think you should think carefully before messing with F Class." 

He gripped the straps of his bag, a small silver tendril curling from his hair, "Bye," he said waving the tentacle. He walked away, grinning to himself as the two boys staring after him with their mouths agape. 

He made his way to class. He gripped the doorknob, hesitating only a split second before entering. Everyone stilled, immediately stopping whatever they were doing as he walked in. He smiled, "Hey guys." 

There was a stunned silence, then...

"Mikado-kun!" 

* * *

Nagisa sat alone in his favorite cafe, stirring his coffee absentmindedly as he watched the other customers. Mikado should be in class by now. He wondered how his class would react. The thought made him smile. 

"Nagisa-sensei." 

Nagisa glanced up and grinned, "Red Eye," he greeted as the hitman sat down opposite him, "I'm surprised you actually showed up," he said. 

Red Eye shrugged, "I owe you," he said, "It's the least I could do." He waved a blond waiter over and ordered a coffee. 

"How's Elias-kun?" Nagisa asked. 

"He's fine," Red Eye said, "He's all healed up and already begging me to bring him on another op. It was good experience for him." 

Nagisa chuckled, "Good to hear." 

Red Eye sighed, "Let's cut to the chase," he said, "Why am I here?" He asked. 

The waiter returned with the hitman's coffee and set it down with a smile, "One coffee," he said. Red Eye nodded his thanks. 

Nagisa waited for him to leave before saying, "I think you know why you're here." 

Red Eye scowled, "You're putting me a bad position," he said, "If my employers' found out I leaked their identity..." 

"They won't," Nagisa assured him, "Trust me." 

Red Eye glanced at him, "Trust huh," he sighed, "I shouldn't have come," he muttered under his breath. 

"Yet here you are," Nagisa said, his smile faded a little, "That means you've got something you want to tell me, isn't there?" 

Red Eye chuckled lowly, "Not exactly," he said. He hesitated a moment, "Listen, as much as I want to, I can't tell you who hired us," he said finally. Nagisa frowned, "Then why did you turn up?" He asked. 

Red Eye stirred his coffee before taking a sip, "I came to warn you," he said. 

"Warn me?" 

Red Eye nodded, "Watch out for your students," he said. He hesitated, "And whatever you do, don't put too much trust in your government." 

"I trust Karasuma-sensei," Nagisa said. 

Red Eye nodded, "Yes," he said, "Of course you do. But I think Chief Karasuma's been left in the dark this time." He glanced out the window, "Be careful, Nagisa-sensei," his eyes were distant, "For old times sake, that's the only advice I can give you. If what I've gathered is true... Things have only just begun." 

Nagisa stared down at his coffee. He gripped the cup, the heat seeping into his skin, "Only just begun?"

He wondered what that meant. 

* * *

The boy stood alone on the edge of the roof, hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans. He gazed down at the school and saw the silver haired boy entered his class. He watched as his classmates surrounded him, a dark haired girl running straight towards him. 

The Ministry of Defense's newest weapon. 

He smiled, "So you're my replacement, huh?" A breeze brushed against his cheek, ruffling his fair hair, "Mikado Takahashi."


	32. Epilogue


    To : Professor D. Hirayama
    Subject: Project Plan B
    
    Professor D. Hirayama,
    
    It is with great pleasure do I inform you that Plan B was an official success. Although the original target was regretfully unobtainable, the Emperor proved to be even more compatible with the tentacles than the Shadow. 
    
    The flash drive was planted during your nephew's attack. As we hoped the Emperor took the bait and with the help of the Shadow and his classmates managed to crack it. We lured them over to Yasunori's hideout. We expected our hired men to be able to take out the Emperor, leaving the Shadow for Yasunori. Unfortunately we underestimated both of them. Neither did we expect Elite Forces to catch on so soon, but the Shadow took care of their agent for us. 
    
    Your nephew will stand for trial against his crimes next month. We shall leave you to decide his fate. It was your work that he had stolen after all. His partner Ren was unfortunately eliminated.
    
    Special Class Chief Tadaomi Karasuma has recruited the Emperor into his Special Forces Unit. The man is truthfully as dense as he is capable, he still suspects nothing. 
    
    On a more positive note, the boy is excelling in every possible aspect, unparalleled to any other. I believe he will be a great asset in the near future. He is loyal without a fault and I am certain he would make a fine agent for the ministry in the coming years, though he may never compare to your Hound, of course. 
    
    The Hound is still at large. There are 57 reported deaths in his name and as I write this undoubtedly that number has already increased. He has been given the title the new God of Death by the professional hitmen both local and abroad. I'll admit, he is everything you said he was and so much more.
    
    His last confirm sighting was in Iraq, where he was spotted making contact with Irina Jelavic. His current whereabouts and intentions are unknown. But our intel suggest he has finally made his return to Japan. 
    
    Rest assured, the Ministry of Defense will put in our utmost effort to return him to your side. 
    
    Regards,
    S. Asunori
    (Commander-in-chief of the Ministry of Defense)


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading :)


	33. Bonus #2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Thanks once again for reading. Here's another bonus sketch of Mikado and Natsuki.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be posting most my fanart on instagram, tumblr is a real headache. The sequel to this fic will be up in a few days :)


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